Pleiones are popular ornamental orchids and different species of Pleione are long being used as traditional medicine in many Asian countries. However, previous chemical investigations of the genus Pleione are restricted to only a few species. In the present study, high performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) fingerprint of Pleione plants was established, which in particular, eight common peaks were confirmed in 16 species/hybrids. Three of the compounds corresponding to the chromatographic peaks were identified by electrospray ionization tandem mass spectrometry (ESI‐tandem‐MS). HPLC analysis confirmed the studied taxa shared most of chemical compounds but the content of chemical compounds was significantly different between species. Comparison of hierarchical clustering result with phylogenetic tree revealed that closely related species have higher similarities in chemical constituents. In consideration of low chemical similarity between spring‐flowering and autumn‐flowering species, we suggest a discrimination of these two groups during medicinal use of the genus Pleione. Species with a large pseudobulb and with high content of a certain compound should be given priority in future artificial cultivation and medicinal cultivar breeding. We hope our findings will contribute to the quality control and promote conservation of such endangered plant group.

中文翻译：

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Pleione (Orchidaceae) 属物种的化学成分和分子系统发育的意义

Pleiones 是流行的观赏兰花，不同种类的 Pleione 长期以来一直被许多亚洲国家用作传统药物。然而，以前对 Pleione 属的化学研究仅限于少数物种。在本研究中，建立了 Pleione 植物的高效液相色谱 (HPLC) 指纹图谱，特别是在 16 个物种/杂交种中确认了 8 个共同峰。对应于色谱峰的三种化合物通过电喷雾电离串联质谱 (ESI-tandem-MS) 进行鉴定。HPLC 分析证实所研究的分类群共享大部分化合物，但化合物的含量在物种之间存在显着差异。层次聚类结果与系统发育树的比较表明，亲缘关系密切的物种在化学成分上具有更高的相似性。考虑到春季开花和秋季开花的物种之间的化学相似性较低，我们建议在 Pleione 属的药用期间区分这两组。假鳞茎大、某种化合物含量高的品种在今后的人工栽培和药用品种选育中应优先考虑。我们希望我们的发现将有助于质量控制和促进这种濒危植物群的保护。我们建议在 Pleione 属的药用期间区分这两个群体。在今后的人工栽培和药用品种选育中，应优先考虑假鳞茎大、某种化合物含量高的品种。我们希望我们的发现将有助于质量控制和促进这种濒危植物群的保护。我们建议在 Pleione 属的药用期间区分这两个群体。假鳞茎大、某种化合物含量高的品种在今后的人工栽培和药用品种选育中应优先考虑。我们希望我们的发现将有助于质量控制和促进此类濒危植物群的保护。