Genus Curcuma a wild species presents an important source of valuable characters for improving the cultivated Curcuma varieties. Based on the collected germplasms, herbariums, field surveys and other literatures, the ecogeographical diversity of Genus Curcuma and its potential distributions under the present and future climate are analysed by DIVA-GIS. The results indicate Genus Curcuma is distributed over 17 provinces in China, and particularly abundant in Guangxi and Guangdong provinces. The simulated current distributions are close to the actual distribution regions. In the future climate, the suitable areas for four Curcuma species will be extended, while for other three species the regions will be significantly decreased, and thus these valuable resources need protecting.

Angelica pubescens, a plant of the family Umbelliferae, has been widely used as traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of many diseases. However, there has been minimal modern research focused on the pharmacological activity of oils extracted from Angelica pubescens, in particular, the potential anti‐photoaging effects. Therefore, in the present study, we analyzed the chemical composition of Angelica pubescens oil (AO) and evaluated its bioactivity against photoaging in ultraviolet (UV) ‐B radiation‐induced hairless mice. Overall, we identified and analyzed 93 compounds from the AO by gas chromatography‐mass spectrometry (GC/MS). The top ten compounds were as follows: osthole (44.608%), glutaric acid hexadecyl pent‐4‐en‐1‐yl ester (5.758%), α‐bisabolol (3.795%), eugenol (3.637%), (Z)‐docos‐13‐enamide (3.286%), (3S,3aR)‐3‐butyl‐3a,4,5,6‐tetrahydro‐3H‐2‐benzofuran‐1‐one (3.043%), m‐cresol (2.841%), trans‐sesquisabinene hydrate (2.128%), 4‐hydroxy‐2‐methylacetophenone (1.735%), and (Z)‐9‐pentadecenol (1.509%). Application of AO improved the condition of UV‐B radiation‐induced damaged skin, and the mechanism of action was found to be related to inhibition of the production of inflammatory cytokines. These results highlight the potential application of AO for the development of skin care products.

Essential oils were extracted from rhizomes of the 12 Curcuma species distributed in China by hydro-distillation, and their chemical compositions were isolated and characterized by GC–MS. The yields of the 12 essential oils ranged from 2.23 wt.% in Curcuma yunnanensis to 4.50 wt.% in Curcuma longa. A total of 57 compounds were identified in the 12 essential oils. The uppermost composition for each species were 8,9-dehydro-9-formyl-cycloisolongifolene in Curcuma aromatica and Curcuma elata; curdione in Curcuma wenyujin, Curcuma kwangsiensis and Curcuma nankunshanensis; ar-turmerone in Curcuma longa and Curcuma rubescens; germacrone in Curcuma sichuanensis, Curcuma phaeocaulis and Curcuma nankunshanensis; β-elemenone in Curcuma kwangsiensis var nanlingensis and velleral in Curcuma attenuata. In addition, DPPH assays indicated that these essential oils possessed different DPPH radical-scavenging activities (IC50, 3.69–30.19 μg/ml), some of them were better than Trolox C (IC50, 8.49 μg/ml). The antioxidant activity of essential oil from Curcuma attenuata Wall (IC50, 3.69 μg/ml) was superior to all other oils. The principal component analysis (PCA) and cluster analysis based on essential oil compositions provided a chemical blueprint to clarify the vague identification and classification of Curcuma species. Due to the outstanding antioxidant activities, the majority of Curcuma species would be used as good natural antioxidants in functional food, pharmaceutical and cosmetic.

•Eighty-one compounds were identified in essential oils of C. longa rhizomes collected from 20 different habitats in China.•Most essential oils showed better antioxidant activities than Trolox C.•Essential oils of rhizomes collected from Guangxi had superior antimicrobial activities.•Some essential oils exhibited outstanding anti-inflammatory effect by down-regulating expression of COX-2 and TNF-α.•Variations in compositions and bioactivities of C. longa essential oils were closely related to geographic and climatic factors.

Chemical compositions, antioxidative, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, and cytotoxic activities of essential oils extracted from four common Curcuma species (Curcuma longa, Curcuma phaeocaulis, Curcuma wenyujin, and Curcuma kwangsiensis) rhizomes in P. R. China are comparatively studied. In total, 47, 49, 35, and 30 compounds are identified in C. longa, C. phaeocaulis, C. wenyujin, and C. kwangsiensis essential oils by GC/MS, and their richest compounds are ar-turmerone (21.67%), elemenone (19.41%), curdione (40.23%) and (36.47%), respectively. Moreover, C. kwangsiensis essential oils display the strongest DPPH (2,2-diphenyl-1-picrylhydrazyl) radical-scavenging activity (IC50 , 3.47 μg/ml), much higher than ascorbic acid (6.50 μg/ml). C. phaeocaulis oils show the best antibacterial activities against Escherichia coli (MIC, 235.54 μg/ml), Pseudomonas aeruginosa (391.31 μg/ml) and Staphylococcus aureus (378.36 μg/ml), while C. wenyujin and C. kwangsiensis oils show optimum activities against Candida albicans (208.61 μg/ml) and Saccharomyces cerevisiae (193.27 μg/ml), respectively. C. phaeocaulis (IC50 , 4.63 μg/ml) and C. longa essential oils (73.05 μg/ml) have the best cytotoxicity against LNCaP and HepG2, respectively. C. kwangsiensis oils also exhibit the strongest anti-inflammatory activities by remarkably down-regulating expression of COX-2 and TNF-α. Therefore, due to their different chemical compositions and bioactivities, traditional Chinese Curcuma herbs should be differentially served as natural additives for food, pharmaceutical, and cosmetic.

The chemical compositions and bioactivities of essential oils from Curcuma. phaeocaulis Valeton rhizomes collected from twelve various locations in China are comparatively investigated. A total of 53 components are identified from essential oils by GC–MS, and the major compounds are 8,9-dehydro-9-formyl-cycloisolongifolene (15.55–46.24%), germacrone (8.88–21.21%), curlone (0.75–20.18%), α-caryophyllene (0.08–11.04%), curzerene (0.63–9.77%) and β-elemene (0.59–5.40%). Most of these essential oils have effective anti-fungus activities (IC50, 153.33–580.09μg/ml), and they also can inhibit the growth of bacteria (IC50, 485.00–778.33μg/ml) to some extent. They also exhibit different DPPH radical-scavenging activities (IC50, 2.17–22.36μg/ml), and the antioxidative activities of some oils are even better than Trolox C. The essential oils reveal good anti-inflammatory activity by markedly down-regulating the expression of COX-2 and TNF-α. The anti-tumor activities of essential oils against LNCaP and B16 cell lines are also studied, and some of them are excellent according to their IC50 values (20.36–245.30μg/ml). These results indicate some essential oils from wild C. phaeocaulis grown in different areas have outstanding bioactivities, which makes them ideal candidates for natural functional nutrition, pharmaceutical, culinary and cosmetic additives.