Abstract
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, a member of the Lamiaceae family, is valued in traditional Chinese Medicine. Its dried root (named Danshen) has been used for hundreds of years, primarily for the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases. Tanshinones are the main active ingredients in S. miltiorrhiza and exhibit significant pharmacological activities, such as antioxidant activity, anti-inflammatory activity, cardiovascular effects, and antitumor activity. Danshen dripping pill of Tianshili is an effective drug widely used in the clinical treatment of cardiovascular diseases. With the increasing demand for clinical drugs, the traditional method for extracting and separating tanshinones from medicinal plants is insufficient. Therefore, in combination with synthetic biological methods and strategies, it is necessary to analyze the biosynthetic pathway of tanshinones and construct high-yield functional bacteria to obtain tanshinones. Moreover, the biosynthesis of tanshinones has been studied for more than two decades but remains to be completely elucidated. This review will systematically present the composition, extraction and separation, pharmacological activities and biosynthesis of tanshinones from S. miltiorrhiza, with the intent to provide references for studies on other terpenoid bioactive components of traditional Chinese medicines and to provide new research strategies for the sustainable development of traditional Chinese medicine resources.
Highlights
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, an important Salvia species with terrific economic, social and medicinal benefits (Su et al, 2015), was first recorded in the Shenlong Bencao Jing (200–300 Alzheimer’s disease (AD), Han Dynasty), the oldest medicine monograph in China
Compared with traditional methods, such as methanol reflux extraction and organic solvents macerating at room temperature, ultrasonic-assisted extraction and microwaveassisted extraction of tanshinones have advantages such as extraction speed and high efficiency (Pan et al, 2002)
sodium tanshinone IIA silate (STS) has protective effects on myocardial apoptosis induced by acute myocardial infarction (MI) in adult rats (Yang et al, 2008) and inhibits cardiac fibrosis after pathological stimuli to the cardiovascular system (Le et al, 2009)
Summary
Salvia miltiorrhiza Bunge, an important Salvia species with terrific economic, social and medicinal benefits (Su et al, 2015), was first recorded in the Shenlong Bencao Jing (200–300 AD, Han Dynasty), the oldest medicine monograph in China. Injection solution, dripping pill, oral liquid, capsule, slow-release formulation, and soft gel are all dosage forms that have been prepared into medicines Among these diverse preparations, composite Danshen droplet pills, used to treat angina pectoris and coronary heart disease, represent a star drug and, a demonstration of traditional Chinese medicine entering the international market. The active ingredients in S. miltiorrhiza (Table 1) can be mainly divided into two categories: fat-soluble tanshinone compounds and water-soluble salvianolic acids. Both ingredients have significant pharmacological activities and are representative active ingredients in traditional Chinese medicine (Ma et al, 2015), especially tanshinones.
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