The reporter learned from Tianjin University on May 14 that Gao Wenyuan, a professor from the School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology of Tianjin University, has developed a new biological bacteriostatic agent against root rot of astragalus, which can not only inhibit root rot, but also promote the growth and metabolism of astragalus. The relevant achievements were recently published in the international authoritative journal Journal of Chemical Engineering.
Astragalus membranaceus is known as "the strength of tonics" and is praised as the top grade of medicinal materials by Compendium of Materia Medica. Modern medical research shows that Astragalus contains triterpenoid saponins, flavonoids and other effective ingredients, as well as a variety of amino acids, folic acid and other trace elements, which have the effects of tonifying qi and yang, strengthening the surface and stopping perspiration, promoting water and detumescence. Astragalus is one of the "three giants" in the northwest Chinese herbal medicine industry, and the related industry has become a characteristic industry in Gansu, Inner Mongolia, Qinghai, Ningxia, Xinjiang and other places to help farmers increase income.
Root rot caused by multiple pathogens is known as "plant cancer", and is a common disease in the planting area of traditional Chinese medicine. The research shows that in low-lying land with poor drainage, the incidence of root rot of Astragalus membranaceus is 32% to 41%, and 55% in seriously ill fields, which has become a major bottleneck restricting the development of Astragalus membranaceus industry. However, the methods of planting disease resistant varieties and using traditional chemical pesticides to fight root rot also have problems such as long breeding cycle and great harm to the environment and human body. Therefore, it is of great significance to develop an environmentally friendly and cost-effective biological control technology for root rot of astragalus membranaceus for high-quality development of our astragalus industry.
As a post scientist in the technical system of the national traditional Chinese medicine industry, Gao Wenyuan led the team to develop a new type of biological bacteriostatic agent for the root rot of Astragalus membranaceus. The antibacterial agent can not only inhibit root rot as an antifungal agent, but also promote the growth and metabolism of Astragalus membranaceus. Through mechanism research, it is found that this new antibacterial agent can play an inhibitory role by inhibiting the growth gene of Fusarium oxysporum, stimulating astragalus to produce antibacterial components, activating astragalus resistance genes, etc. It can be used as a substitute for traditional pesticides, and has great application potential in plant protection.
"Our new antibacterial agent has the same effect as the pesticide currently sold in the market, but it is cheaper, more environmentally friendly and healthy." Wang Juan, a major member of the team and associate professor of the School of Pharmaceutical Science and Technology of Tianjin University, said, "Next, we will further optimize the cost, plan to cooperate with the astragalus base in Dangchang County, Gansu Province, which is supported by Tianjin University, investigate the demonstration effect, and realize the promotion and application." (Zhang Jianxin, Jiao Defang)
