Abstract
Genus Cynanchum L. belongs to the family Asclepiadaceae, which comprise more than 200 species distributed worldwide. In Chinese medical practice, numerous drugs (such as tablets and powders) containing different parts of plants of this genus are used to treat snake bites, bruises, osteoblasts, rheumatoid arthritis and tumors. A search for original articles published on the cynanchum genus was performed by using several resources, including Flora of China Official Website and various scientific databases, such as PubMed, SciFinder, the Web of Science, Science Direct, and China Knowledge Resource Integrated (CNKI). Advances in the botanical, ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, and pharmacological studies of this genus are reviewed in this paper. Results showed that more than 440 compounds, including C21 steroids, steroidal saponins, alkaloids, flavonoids and terpene, have been isolated and identified from Cynanchum plants up to now. In vivo and in vitro studies have shown that plants possess an array of biological activities, including anti-tumor, neuroprotective and anti-fungal effects. Popular traditional prescription of Cynanchum sp. was also summed up in this paper. However, many Cynanchum species have received little or no attention. Moreover, few reports on the clinical use and toxic effects of Cynanchum sp. are available. Further attention should be focused on the study of these species to gather information on their respective toxicology data and relevant quality-control measures and clinical value of the crude extracts, active compounds, and bioactive metabolites from this genus. Further research on Cynanchum sp. should be conducted, and bioactivity-guided isolation strategies should be emphasized. In addition, systematic studies of the chemical composition of plants should be enhanced.
Highlights
Cynanchum L. is a large genus in the Asclepiadaceae family comprising approximately 200 species.Many of these plants have been used for a long time in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of common and chronic diseases
According to our review on the monographs and literature, 17 medicinal plants are included in genus Cynanchum; which are C. sibiricum, C. chinense, C. auriculatum, C. officinale, C. bungei, C. otophyllum, C. corymbosum, C. amplexicaule, C. forrestii, C. stauntonii, C. vincetoxicum, C. inamoenum, C. atratum (CA), C. glaucescens, C. paniculatum, C. komarovii, C. versicolor, C. chekiangense and C. mooreanum
The results showed that these compounds significantly inhibit the proliferation of concanavalin A (Con A)- and LPS-induced mice splenocytes in vitro in a dose-dependent manner
Summary
Cynanchum L. is a large genus in the Asclepiadaceae family comprising approximately 200 species. Many of these plants have been used for a long time in traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for the treatment of common and chronic diseases. Cynanchum L. is an important taxonomic group in the Asclepiadaceae family because numerous species of this genus have several application prospects other than in the field of medicine. Given the high medicinal value of anti-tumor, immune regulation and anti-oxidation of Cynanchum, a growing number of studies have been carried out on the chemical composition of the genus [5]. We systematically summarized the resources, folk application, chemical composition and pharmacological activity of Cynanchum, and proposed certain suggestions according to its research status to provide reference for the comprehensive development and sustainable utilization of the species in this genus
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