Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, PR China.
Pharm Biol. 2011 Nov;49(11):1180-9. doi: 10.3109/13880209.2011.576346.
Ligusticum chuanxiong Hort (LC; Umbelliferae) is an effective medical plant, which has been extensively applied for many years to treat various diseases with other Chinese herbal medicines. Although a considerable amount of scientific research was reported on LC in the last decade, it is currently scattered across various publications. The present review comprises the chemical and pharmacological research on LC in the last decade.
The objective of this review is to bring together most of the scientific research available on LC and evaluate its effects and mechanisms.
The information for 82 cases included in this review was compiled using major databases such as Medline, Elsevier, Springer, Pubmed, and Scholar.
The compounds contained in LC can be divided into five kinds, essential oil (EO), alkaloids, phenolic acids, phthalide lactones, and other constituents. A great deal of pharmacological research has been done, which mainly focuses on cardiovascular and cerebrovascular effects, antioxidation, neuroprotection, antifibrosis, antinociception, antiinflammation, and antineoplastic activity.
A large number of pharmacological and chemical studies during the last 10 years have demonstrated the vast medicinal potential of LC. It is still very clear that LC is a plant with widespread use now and also with extraordinary potential for the future. The documents strongly support the view that LC has beneficial therapeutic properties and indicates its potential as an effective adaptogenic herbal remedy.
川芎（LC；伞形科）是一种有效的药用植物，多年来与其他中草药广泛应用于治疗各种疾病。尽管在过去十年中对 LC 进行了相当数量的科学研究，但目前这些研究分散在各种出版物中。本综述包括了过去十年中对 LC 的化学和药理学研究。
本综述的目的是汇集关于 LC 的大部分可用科学研究，并评估其作用和机制。
使用 Medline、Elsevier、Springer、Pubmed 和 Scholar 等主要数据库，编译了本综述中包含的 82 个案例的信息。
LC 中包含的化合物可分为五类，即精油（EO）、生物碱、酚酸、苯酞内酯和其他成分。已经进行了大量的药理学研究，主要集中在心血管和脑血管作用、抗氧化、神经保护、抗纤维化、镇痛、抗炎和抗肿瘤活性。
过去 10 年的大量药理学和化学研究表明，LC 具有广泛的药用潜力。现在很明显，LC 是一种用途广泛且具有非凡潜力的植物。这些文献有力地支持了 LC 具有有益的治疗特性的观点，并表明它作为一种有效的适应原草药疗法具有潜力。
