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Camellia nitidissima C.W. Chi: a review of botany, chemistry, and pharmacology

April 2018
Phytochemistry Reviews 17(2)

April 2018
17(2)

DOI:10.1007/s11101-017-9537-x

Authors:

Dongye He

Jining Medical University

Xiaoyu Li

Dalian University of Technology

Lili Wang

Dalian University of Technology

Show all 6 authorsHide

Camellia nitidissima C.W. Chi, honored as “the Queen of Camellia”, has attracted considerable attention as a rare and famous ornamental species characterized by yellow waxy petals. Its flowers and leaves have been used in Chinese folk herbal medicine to treat dysentery, hypertension, diarrhea, faucitis, hepatitis with jaundice, liver cirrhosis, sores, malignant tumors, and irregular menstruation. In recent years, a great number of phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicity studies on C. nitidissima have been carried out, primarily in China. Phytochemical investigations have shown that the plant contains a rich source of bioactive constituents, including flavonoids, polysaccharides, saponins, volatile compounds, and other components such as mineral elements and amino acids. Both in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies have demonstrated that C. nitidissima possesses anticancer, antioxidant, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, antiallergic, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, anxiolytic, and antidepressant properties. The present paper presents an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the botany, processing, chemical constituents, pharmacological effects, and toxicity of C. nitidissima in order to provide scientific credence for this traditional medicine while exploring the potential of this plant for drug development.

Camellia nitidissima in its natural habitat (Baidu Gallery 2017)

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Camellia nitidissima C.W. Chi: a review of botany, chemistry,

and pharmacology

Dongye He .Xiaoyu Li .Xuan Sai .Lili Wang .Shuying Li .

Yongping Xu

Received: 25 November 2016 / Accepted: 6 October 2017 / Published online: 16 October 2017

©Springer Science+Business Media B.V. 2017

Abstract Camellia nitidissima C.W. Chi, honored

as “the Queen of Camellia”, has attracted consider-

able attention as a rare and famous ornamental

species characterized by yellow waxy petals. Its

ﬂowers and leaves have been used in Chinese folk

herbal medicine to treat dysentery, hypertension,

diarrhea, faucitis, hepatitis with jaundice, liver

cirrhosis, sores, malignant tumors, and irregular

menstruation. In recent years, a great number of

phytochemical, pharmacological, and toxicity studies

on C. nitidissima have been carried out, primarily in

China. Phytochemical investigations have shown that

the plant contains a rich source of bioactive con-

stituents, including ﬂavonoids, polysaccharides,

saponins, volatile compounds, and other components

such as mineral elements and amino acids. Both

in vitro and in vivo pharmacological studies have

demonstrated that C. nitidissima possesses anticancer,

antioxidant, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, antialler-

gic, immunomodulatory, antibacterial, anxiolytic, and

antidepressant properties. The present paper presents

an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the

botany, processing, chemical constituents, pharma-

cological effects, and toxicity of C. nitidissima in

order to provide scientiﬁc credence for this traditional

medicine while exploring the potential of this plant

for drug development.

Keywords Theaceae · Medicinal plant ·

Anticancer activity · Antioxidant activity ·

Flavonoids

Introduction

Camellia nitidissima C.W. Chi (Theaceae) is an

evergreen shrub or dungarunga standing about 2–5 m

in height with a natural distribution limited to North

Vietnam and Southwest China, but especially preva-

lent in the Guangxi Zhuang Autonomous Region

(Zhang and Huang 1986; Su and Mo 1988). Camellia

nitidissima, commonly known as“Fortune’s Yellow

Camellia” and the “Giant Panda of the Plant King-

dom”, is a rare and famous ornamental species of the

genus Camellia (He et al. 2015a,b; He et al.

2016a,b). It appeared in the Chinese medical classics

Ben Cao Gang Mu (本草纲目) 400 years ago and has

been widely used for the treatment of malignant

D. He · X. Li · X. Sai · L. Wang · Y. Xu (&)

School of Life Science and Biotechnology, Dalian

University of Technology, No. 2 Linggong Road,

Ganjingzi District, Dalian 116024, People’s Republic of

China

e-mail: hehe2287@sina.com

D. He · X. Li · X. Sai · L. Wang · Y. Xu

Ministry of Education Center for Food Safety of Animal

Origin, Dalian University of Technology, Dalian 116620,

China

S. Li · Y. Xu

Dalian SEM Bio-Engineering Technology Co. Ltd.,

Dalian 116620, China

123

Phytochem Rev (2018) 17:327–349

DOI 10.1007/s11101-017-9537-x

Content courtesy of Springer Nature, terms of use apply. Rights reserved.

DISTRIBUTION AND POTENTIAL OF CAMELLIA SPP. IN THE CENTRAL HIGHLANDS, VIETNAM, FOR DEVELOPING HIGH-VALUE PRODUCTS IN THE FOOD INDUSTRY

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This article focuses on the potential use of yellow camellias in the food technology industry by analyzing and synthesizing information from previous publications. Many rare species of the genus Camellia have been discovered recently in the Central Highlands of Vietnam, including 10 new species discovered in Lam Dong Province between 2012 and 2016. These 10 species account for 55.55% of the 18 species growing naturally in the Central Highlands and demonstrate the diversity of Camellia in the region. The flowers range from light yellow to orange to deep yellow in color. The survival rate of cuttings is 72.24%–83.33%, and the rooting rate when seeds are sown approaches 100%. Yellow camellias do not contain caffeine. The main active ingredient is polyphenol, with a content of 5.22%–30.11% (mg GAE/100 g DW). Camellia extract does not cause acute toxicity and has a blood sugar-lowering effect. Vietnam has much experience growing green tea; the total green tea growing area is 131,200 hectares. The average annual yield is 6.90 tons of fresh leaves per hectare, and the current export market to 60 countries is the basis for expanding the yellow camellia growing area. The Central Highlands has great potential as a stable source of raw materials to create fermented beverages, tea powder, tea oil, and colorants.

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Brasenia schreberi, a plant species traditionally utilized in Chinese medicine and cuisine, represents an early evolutionary stage among flowering plants (angiosperms). While the plastid genome of this species has been published, its mitochondrial genome (mitogenome) has not been extensively explored, with a notable absence of thorough comparative analyses of its organellar genomes. In our study, we had assembled the entire mitogenome of B. schreberi utilizing the sequencing data derived from both Illumina platform and Oxford Nanopore. The B. schreberi mitogenome mostly exists as six circular DNA molecules, with the largest being 628,257 base pairs (bp) and the smallest 110,220 bp, amounting to 1.49 megabases (Mb). Then we annotated the mitogenome of B. schreberi. The mitogenome encompasses a total of 71 genes: 40 of these are coding proteins genes (PCGs), 28 are genes for transfer RNA (tRNA), and the remaining 3 are genes for ribosomal RNA (rRNA). In the analysis of codon usage, we noted a unique codon preference specific to each amino acid. The most commonly used codons exhibited an average RSCU of 1.36, indicating a noticeable bias in codon selection. In the repeat sequence analysis, a total of 553 simple sequence repeats (SSRs) were identified, 1,822 dispersed repeats (comprising 1,015 forward and 807 palindromic repeats), and 608 long terminal repeats (LTRs). Additionally, in the analysis of homologous sequences between organelle genomes, we detected 38 homologous sequences derived from the plastid genome, each exceeding 500 bp, within the B. schreberi mitochondrial genome. Notably, ten tRNA genes (trnC-GCA, trnM-CAU, trnI-CAU, trnQ-UUG, trnN-GUU, trnT-GGU, trnW-CCA, trnA-UGC, trnI-GAU, and trnV-GAC) appear to have been completely transferred from the chloroplast to the mitogenome. Utilizing the Deepred-mt to predict the RNA editing sites in the mitogenome, we have identified 675 high-quality RNA editing sites in the 40 mitochondrial PCGs. In the final stage of our study, we performed an analysis of colinearity and inferred the phylogenetic relationship of B. schreberi with other angiosperms, utilizing the mitochondrial PCGs as a basis. The results showed that the non-coding regions of the B. schreberi mitogenome are characterized by an abundance of repetitive sequences and exogenous sequences, and B. schreberi is more closely related with Euryale ferox.

Comparative Analysis of Pigments, Phenolics, and Bioactivities of Three Camellia Species Growing in Vietnam

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To explore the molecular mechanism underlying the response of Camellia huana to low-phosphorus stress, transcriptome sequencing was carried out, and the genome-wide responses of plants under different durations (0 days, 15 days, and 30 days) of low-phosphorus stress were analyzed. The sequencing results were validated by qRT‒PCR and analyses of related physiological and biochemical parameters. Compared with those in the control group (CK, 0 days), 426/802 and 861/1678 genes were up- and downregulated in the 15 day (15D) and 30 day (30D) groups. Kyoto Encyclopedia of Genes and Genomes (KEGG) analysis revealed sugar and energy metabolism, cytomembrane lipid metabolism and hormone metabolism pathways were enriched in most of these differentially expressed genes (DEGs). The expression levels of genes involved in sugar metabolism, except for AGP (ADP pyrophosphorylase) and GBSS (granule-bound starch synthase), generally increased, especially those of β-amylase and SP, indicating that the starch source of Camellia huana under low-phosphorus stress mainly depended on SP-catalyzed G-1-P. The expression of genes involved in the EMP pathway and photosynthesis was generally inhibited. Low-phosphorus-induced stress strongly affected cytomembrane lipid metabolism, resulting in the downregulation of genes involved in phospholipid metabolism and the upregulation of genes involved in sulfur lipid metabolism. Finally, stress induced the expression of genes involved in the ethylene (ETH) synthesis pathway and inhibited the expression of genes involved in auxin, abscisic acid (ABA) and methyl jasmonate (MeJA) synthesis. The qRT‒PCR results were consistent with the transcriptome sequencing results. Physiological and biochemical index analyses revealed that the levels of ATP and soluble sugars decreased gradually, while those of superoxide dismutase (SOD), glutathione S-transferase, catalase (CAT) and plant chlorophyll increased. The levels of ABA and ETH gradually increased, while those of indoleacetic acid (IAA) and MeJA decreased. The physiological and biochemical parameter analysis results were similar to those of RNA-seq and qRT‒PCR. This study investigated the molecular mechanism underlying the response of Camellia huana to low-phosphorus-induced stress and provided a theoretical basis for the subsequent widespread planting of Camellia huana in low-phosphorus soil. Keywords Camellia huana; Low-phosphorous stress; Transcriptional sequencing; qRT‒PCR; Physiological and biochemical detection

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Widely targeted metabolomics reveals the species‐specific, matureness‐specific and post‐harvest‐specific discriminations in the chemical profiles of Vietnamese endemic golden camellias

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Vietnam is one of the countries with the highest diversity of golden camellias in the world, with more than forty endemic species. However, studies on Vietnamese golden camellias need to be expanded to fill a knowledge gap on these species' chemical profiles and pharmacological properties. This qualitative study focuses on six golden camellias: four endemic species from Tam Dao district, Vinh Phuc province, including Camellia hakodae , Camellia phanii , Camellia tamdaoensis , Camellia tienii and two species commonly cultivated in Quang Ninh province including Camellia petelotii and Camellia euphlebia . A mutual profile of 131 metabolites was obtained by using widely targeted metabolomics analysis using ultra‐performance liquid chromatography coupled with tandem mass spectrometry. Comparative metabolomics was performed among leaf extracts of six golden teas, between young and mature leaves and between freeze‐drying and oven‐drying leaves to discriminate these species, and determine the effect of developmental stage and post‐harvesting method on the plant metabolism. The PLS‐DA model successfully illustrated a clear separation of the six species and suggested apigenin C‐glycoside derivatives as chemical markers for the diversity. Young and mature leaves of all six species also produced distinguished metabolomes, differentiated by mostly amino acid derivatives. The multivariate analysis also indicated the conversion of some flavonoids and amino acids induced by heat in the drying process. These results offer metabolite markers for quality control of Vietnamese golden camellias and recommendations for their usage and preparation.

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Biochemical components in the leave of two Camellia chrysantha (Hu) Tuyama species were analyzed. The results showed that, the contents of water, water extract, total flavonoids and soluble sugar of Camellia nitidissima were 6.18%, 30.16%, 0.214% and 10.09%, respectively. For Camellia euphlebia the contents of those components were 10.06%, 18.97%, 0.445% and 3.69%, respectively. The content of total free amino acid in Camellia nitidissima was 6.5643 mg/g. The content of total free amino acid in Camellia euphlebia was 1.2720 mg/g. For the content of tea polyphenols, both of the samples were little. In general, Camellia nitidissima was more than Camellia euphlebia. As for aroma compositions, Camellia nitidissima was identified for 45 kinds, Camellia euphlebia was identified for 26 kinds. Camellia nitidissima was different from Camellia euphlebia in the contents of biochemical components. The development of Camellia nitidissima is more valuable.

Chemical Constituents from Leaves of Camellia nitidissima and Their Potential Cytotoxicity on SGC7901 Cells

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Jan 2016

Objective To isolate and identify the bioactive phytochemicals from the leaves of Camellia nitidissima. Methods The chemical constituents were isolated and purified by repeated silica gel, Sephadex LH-20, MCI gel columns, recrystallization, and semi-preparative HPLC techniques. The chemicl structures of these compounds were identified on the basis of spectral data including NMR and MS. Then quorum sensing inhibition (QSI) activities of these compounds were tested using Chromobacterium violaceum CV026 as the bioindicator strain. The antitumor activities of these compounds were measured using SGC7901 as cell proliferation and cytotoxicity. Results α-Spinasteryl-β-D-glucopyranoside (1), stigmasta-7,22-diene-3-O-[α-L-arabinopyranosyl (1→2)]–β-D-galactopyranoside (2), kaempferol 3-O-[2-O-(trans-p-coumaroyl)-3-O-α-D-glucopyranosyl]-α-D-glucopyranoside (3), aromadendrin (4), catechin (5), phlorizin 4′-O-β-D-glucopyranoside (6), (3R,6R,7E)-3-hydroxy-4,7-megastigmadien-9-one (7), dodecanoic acid (8), 3p-acetoxy-20-lupanol (9), and 3β,6α,13β-trihydroxyolean- 7-one (10) were successively isolated from the leaves of C. nitidissima. Unfortunately, these compounds had no QSI activity. Based on Cell Counting Kit-8 (CCK-8) assay, compound 10 showed the best anti-tumor activity of all compounds (IC50 = 91.7 µg/mL). Conclusion Apart from compounds 4 and 5, other eight compounds are reported in this plant for the first time. All compounds show no QSI activity, compound 10 shows potential cytotoxic activity on SGC7901 cells in vitro.

Nutrient composition in leaves of cultivated and wild Camellia nitidissima

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Apr 2012

Camellia nitidissima is widely used to make tea in south China. The purpose of this research was to investigate the effect of cultivation on the nutrients of C. nitidissima. In this paper, we make comparative analyses of the nutrient content in leaves in cultivated and wild C. nitidissima. The results indicate that both cultivated and wild C. nitidissima had a full complement of amino acids with rich contents and a variety of mineral nutrients. There were no significant differences between cultivated and wild C. nitidissima in terms of water, vitamin C, gross sugar, protein, fat, nitrogen, phosphorous, potassium, magnesium or zinc content, but cultivated C. nitidissima had significantly higher contents of essential amino acids (26.05%) and total amino acids (33.27%) than that of wild C. nitidissima.

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May 2012

Antioxidant and Free Radical Scavenging Activity of Camellia nitidissima Chi

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Jul 2011

The antioxidant and free radical scavenging activity of various fractions of the ethanol extract of Camellia nitidissima Chi leaves were evaluated in vitro using DPPH, ABTS + radical scavenging activity and phosphomolybdenum method. The DNA damage and human umbilical vein endothelial cell (HUVEC) (CRL-1730) damage were also applied to assess the antioxidant capacity of the n-butanol fraction, which showed the highest antioxidant activity in all of the test fractions. The total phenolic contents were assessed in order to evaluate the relationship of total phenolic contents with antioxidant and free radical scavenging capability. Results showed that n-butanol fraction possess the highest free radical scavenging activities with the EC 50 of 37.64 μg/mL for DPPH and 14.74 μg/mL for ABTS +. Furthermore, it demonstrated powerful capacity to protect the DNA damage induced by AAPH at 1 mg/mL and protect the CRL-1730 cell damage induced by hydrogen peroxide (H 2O 2) (EC 50, 9.85 μg/mL). Maximum amounts of total phenolic contents were found in the n-butanol fraction which correlates well with the antioxidant and free radical scavenging capacities.