Localization and Identification of Phenolic Compounds in Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge Roots and Leaves

Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge is a commonly used traditional Chinese medicine whose water-soluble components are the key active ingredients for its therapeutical effects. In order to illustrate the synthesis, translocation, and distribution of the water-soluble phenolic compounds in the different growing stages of S. miltiorrhiza Bunge, levels of salvianolic acid B (SAB) and rosmarinic acid (RA) were examined we performed histochemistry and high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) to quantify the amounts. We found that the main phenolic compounds synthesized initially during the sprouting stage to be SAB and RA, which are both mainly located in the central vacuoles of palisade parenchyma and epidermis cell in the leaf during this particular stage. Of the phenolic compounds initially located in the plasma membranes of periderm and phloem parenchyma cells during the germination stage of the root, there is a large amount of RA yet little presence of SAB. Located in the central vacuoles of the periderm cell of the root after leaf wilting are the main components, SAB and RA.