Abstract
Gelsemium elegans Benth (GEB), also known as heartbreak grass, is a highly poisonous plant belonging to the family Loganiaceae and genus Gelsemium that has broad application prospects in medicine. This article reviews its chemical components, pharmacological effects, toxicity mechanisms, and research progress in clinical applications in recent years. Indole alkaloids are the main active components of GEB and have a variety of pharmacological and biological functions. They have anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and immunomodulation properties, with the therapeutic dose being close to the toxic dose. Application of small-dose indole alkaloids fails to work effectively, while high-dose usage is prone to poisoning, aggravating the patient’s conditions. Special caution is needed, especially to observe the changes in the disease condition of the patients in clinical practice. In-depth research on the chemical components and mechanisms of GEB is essential to the development of promising lead compounds and lays the foundation for extensive clinical application and safe usage of GEB in the future.
Highlights
Gokhan ZenginGelsemium elegans Benth (GEB), known as heartbreak grass, is a highly poisonous plant belonging to the family Loganiaceae and genus Gelsemium
With the search terms of G. elegans both in English and Chinese, 135 papers were retrieved after the first search, and 60 papers among them which were tightly related with chemical components, pharmacological effects, and toxicity mechanisms were identified for collection and further review
This paper summarizes the research progress of the chemical components, pharmacological effects, and mechanisms of toxicity, as well as the clinical applications of GEB
Summary
Gelsemium elegans Benth (GEB), known as heartbreak grass, is a highly poisonous plant belonging to the family Loganiaceae and genus Gelsemium. In the 1930s, Chinese scholars began to study GEB from the perspectives of biochemistry [4,5,6,7], pharmacology [8,9,10], toxicology [11], and genomics [12,13] Given its relatively high toxicity, the clinical application of GEB has been limited. With the search terms of G. elegans both in English and Chinese, 135 papers were retrieved after the first search, and 60 papers among them which were tightly related with chemical components, pharmacological effects, and toxicity mechanisms were identified for collection and further review.
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