Bioscience Evidence 2026, Vol.16, No.4, 277-290 http://bioscipublisher.com/index.php/be 285 medicinal materials that meet quality standards, although different processing methods may alter the composition of volatile oils and some bioactive compounds. To improve processing efficiency, sulfur fumigation has been used in some production areas to maintain rhizome color and suppress fungal growth. However, concerns about product safety and quality have limited its acceptance. Sun et al. (2017) compared the chemical composition of A. macrocephala before and after sulfur fumigation using UFLC-QTOF-MS. Excessive sulfur fumigation caused dehydration and sulfurization of atractylenolides, producing new sulfur-containing derivatives and significantly changing the overall chemical fingerprint of the medicinal material. These newly formed compounds can be used as chemical markers to identify excessively sulfur-fumigated products. The results also indicate that although sulfur fumigation improves external appearance, it may reduce the authenticity and quality consistency of the medicinal material. For this reason, natural drying and low-temperature hot-air drying are currently recommended for A. macrocephala production, whereas excessive sulfur fumigation is no longer encouraged. 6 Field Evidence fromAtractylodes macrocephala Production in Zhejiang Province 6.1 Ecological conditions and quality performance of Pan'anAtractylodes macrocephala Pan'an is one of the most important Daodi production areas for Atractylodes macrocephala in Zhejiang Province. Zhou et al. (2025) compared four major production regions, including Pan'an (Zhejiang), Bozhou (Anhui), Zhoukou (Henan), and Anguo (Hebei). Five fields were selected from each region, giving a total of 20 experimental sites. All fields had approximately 10 years of A. macrocephala cultivation history, cereal crops had been grown previously, and the same planting material ("Second-Year Improved No. 1") was used at all locations. Plants and rhizosphere soil were sampled at the same harvest period in mid-October 2020. This experimental design minimized the effects of differences in cultivar, previous crop, and harvest time, allowing a more direct comparison of ecological conditions and medicinal quality among production regions. Plants grown in Pan'an produced greater shoot and rhizome biomass than those from the other three regions. Among the four bioactive compounds analyzed, the average contents of Butenolide I and Butenolide III reached 0.513 mg·g⁻¹ and 1.381 mg·g⁻¹, respectively, which were significantly higher than those measured in the other production areas. In contrast, no significant differences were observed in atractylone or Butenolide II among the four regions. These results indicate that the advantages of Pan'an A. macrocephala are reflected mainly in plant growth and the accumulation of specific bioactive compounds rather than in every chemical constituent. Therefore, the evaluation of Daodi medicinal materials should not rely solely on production origin or on a single chemical marker. Rhizome growth, commercial appearance, and multiple quality indicators should all be considered. Regional differences were also associated with soil characteristics. The rhizosphere soil of Pan'an plants contained higher organic matter levels and greater activities of several soil enzymes than soils from the other production regions. Fungal diversity was also higher, and interactions within the fungal community were stronger. The relative abundance of Saitozyma, an important genus in the fungal network, reached 2.19% in Pan'an but was below 0.1% in some newly developed production areas. These fungi may indirectly promote plant growth and bioactive compound accumulation by decomposing organic matter, improving nutrient cycling, and maintaining a healthy rhizosphere environment. However, the study identified correlations between soil properties, rhizosphere microorganisms, and medicinal quality rather than direct evidence that any single fungal species improves the quality of A. macrocephala. 6.2 Continuous cropping, growth duration, and field quality formation Continuous cropping is one of the most common production problems in the A. macrocephala growing regions of Zhejiang Province. Xu et al. (2025) conducted a three-year field experiment in Lin'an District, Hangzhou, Zhejiang Province, using a randomized block design. The experiment included five treatments: land without A. macrocephala, one year of cultivation, two consecutive years of cultivation, one year of fallow after cultivation, and two years of fallow after cultivation. Each treatment included replicated plots of 20 m × 20 m. Plants were propagated from sprouting rhizomes, transplanted every March, harvested every November, and managed using the same cultivation practices throughout the experiment. The study closely reflected the actual production cycle of continuous cropping, fallow recovery, and replanting in Zhejiang.
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