chromatography (TLC) (Tong et al. 2003). Most
recently, swainsonine content of A. variabilis, A.
strictus, A. hamiensis, O. glabra, O. kansuensis, O.
ochrocephala, O. glacialis, O. deflexa, and
O.latibracteata was determined by Liu et al. (2009).
These results showed that the mean swainsonine
content of O. kansuensis at 0.148 mg/g was the
highest of the Chinese species and that of A.
hamiensis at 0.044 mg/g was the lowest among these
species. The average swainsonine content at
flowering was 0.139 mg/g, which was the highest
among all phenological stages, while the average
content in flowers was 0.162 mg/g, which was the
highest among all plant parts. This research also
demonstrated that swainsonine content of locoweeds
increased with elevation.