Initiation of Early Bolting by Pre-Enhancing Anthocyanin and Catalase Activity in Angelica sinensis Tender Leaf during Medicine Formation Cultivation Year

To explore physiological roles associated with early bolting (EB) of Angelica sinensis (Oliv.) Diels, 48 re-green plants transplanted by two sources of seedlings were randomly sampled to observe their phenology. Synchronously, physiological characters in tender leaves of single plant were measured every 18 d or so until the end of EB. The results showed that anthocyanin and CAT activities in the potential EB plants firstly boosted 48.33 and 60.50% more than the normal ones, and thereafter they all decreased and then again increased with the EB occurrence, while they reversed exactly in the normal plants. The same reverse trends also found in SOD, POD and APX activities in the EB and normal plants. Stronger antioxidant enzyme activities triggered higher survival but also higher EB rates as well. The property of the significant relations of the anthocyanin and CAT activity to the EB varied with the individual phenology and was modulated by SOD, POD and APX activities in synergy. This conclusion is of great significance to improving our understanding early bolting and its physiological control mechanism in A. sinensis.