As a rare endangered medical plant that newly cultivated,little experimental information is available for growth and metabolites of Tetrastigma hemsleyanum in response to nitrogen( N). The effects of different levels of N on growth of T. hemsleyanum and the content of phytochemicals( polysaccharide,total flavonoids and phenolics) and antioxidant activity( ABTS and FRAP) in stems and leaves were investigated in this study. A certain amount of N had positive effects on most of biological traits,and excessive dose of N went against growth of T. hemsleyanum. With N levels decreased,the polysaccharide content in stems and leaves had no significant change,while the total flavonoid and phenolic content,and antioxidant activities increased steadily. Antioxidant activities and total flavonoid and phenolic content had significant positive correlation. Excessive N fertilizer should be avoided by cultivation.
Keywords: Tetrastigma hemsleyanum; antioxidant capacity; medicinal plants; nitrogen fertilization; total flavonoids; total phenolics.