Pharmacognosy & Ethnopharmacology Division, National Botanical Research Institute, Rana Pratap Marg, Lucknow 226 001, India.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2011 Jun 22;136(2):283-96. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2011.04.031. Epub 2011 Apr 20.
Desmodium gangeticum (L.) DC. and Desmodium adscendens (Sw.) DC. are two important and well explored species of genus Desmodium (Fabaceae (alt. Leguminosae) subfamily: Faboideae). Desmodium gangeticum is used as a tonic, febrifuge, digestive, anticatarrhal, antiemitic, in inflammatory conditions of chest and in various other inflammatory conditions in the Ayurvedic System of Medicine while Desmodium adscendens is widely used for the treatment of asthma in Ghana, Africa.
The aim of this review is to provide comprehensive information on the botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological research and toxicology of Desmodium gangeticum and Desmodium adscendens to explore their therapeutic potential and future research opportunities.
All the available information on Desmodium gangeticum and Desmodium adscendens was collected via electronic search (using Pubmed, SciFinder, Scirus, Google Scholar, JCCC@INSTIRC and Web of Science) and a library search for articles published in peer-reviewed journals.
About 25 different species of Desmodium including Desmodium gangeticum and Desmodium adscendens are used ethnomedicinally all over the world. Phytochemical research on Desmodium gangeticum and Desmodium adscendens has led to the isolation of alkaloids, pterocarpans, phospholipids, sterols, flavones and flavonoid glycosides from Desmodium gangeticum and triterpenoid saponins, phenylethylamines and indole-3-alkyl amines from Desmodium adscendens. Crude extracts, fractions and isolated components of Desmodium gangeticum and Desmodium adscendens showed a wide spectrum of in vitro and in vivo pharmacological activities like antileishmanial, immunomodulatory, antiasthmatic, smooth muscle relaxant, anti-inflammatory, anti-ulcer, cardio-protective, antidiabetic, antiamnesic, antiviral, antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities.
Desmodium gangeticum and Desmodium adscendens have emerged as a good source of traditional medicine. Desmodium gangeticum possesses the ability to scavenge the free radicals generated during ischaemia and ischaemia reperfusion thereby preserving the mitochondrial respiratory enzymes that eventually lead to cardio-protection and has potential prophylactic and therapeutic efficacy against Leishmania infection. Desmodium adscendens is useful against chronic bronchitis and asthma. However, there is a need to search for individual secondary metabolites responsible for these actions and study their mode of actions, bioavailability, pharmacokinetics and physiological pathways in sufficient detail. The promising results should be further substantiated by clinical trials.
山蚂蝗属（蝶形花科（旧称豆科）亚科：车轴草亚科）中的山蚂蝗（L.）和山蚂蝗（Sw.）是两种重要且研究充分的物种。山蚂蝗在印度阿育吠陀医学系统中被用作补品、退烧药、消化药、祛痰药、止吐药，用于治疗胸部炎症和各种其他炎症；而山蚂蝗在加纳被广泛用于治疗哮喘。
本综述的目的是提供山蚂蝗和山蚂蝗的植物学、传统用途、植物化学、药理学研究和毒理学方面的综合信息，以探索其治疗潜力和未来的研究机会。
通过电子搜索（使用 Pubmed、SciFinder、Scirus、Google Scholar、JCCC@INSTIRC 和 Web of Science）和图书馆搜索，收集了有关山蚂蝗和山蚂蝗的所有可用信息，这些文章均发表在同行评议的期刊上。
全世界约有 25 种不同的山蚂蝗物种，包括山蚂蝗和山蚂蝗，被用于民族医学。对山蚂蝗和山蚂蝗的植物化学研究导致从山蚂蝗中分离出生物碱、紫檀烷、磷脂、甾醇、黄酮类和黄酮苷，从山蚂蝗中分离出三萜皂苷、苯乙胺和吲哚-3-烷基胺。山蚂蝗和山蚂蝗的粗提取物、馏分和分离成分表现出广泛的体外和体内药理学活性，如抗利什曼原虫、免疫调节、抗哮喘、平滑肌松弛、抗炎、抗溃疡、心脏保护、抗糖尿病、抗健忘、抗病毒、抗氧化和保肝活性。
山蚂蝗和山蚂蝗已成为传统医学的良好来源。山蚂蝗具有清除缺血和再灌注期间产生的自由基的能力，从而保护线粒体呼吸酶，最终导致心脏保护，并对利什曼原虫感染具有潜在的预防和治疗功效。山蚂蝗对慢性支气管炎和哮喘有效。然而，需要寻找负责这些作用的个别次生代谢物，并充分研究它们的作用方式、生物利用度、药代动力学和生理途径。有希望的结果应通过临床试验进一步证实。
