Southern Cross Plant Science, Southern Cross University, PO Box 157, Lismore, NSW 2480, Australia.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2012 Aug 1;142(3):591-619. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2012.05.046. Epub 2012 Jun 6.
For nearly 2000 years Sargassum spp., a brown seaweed, has been used in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM) to treat a variety of diseases including thyroid disease (e.g. goitre).
To assess the scientific evidence for therapeutic claims made for Sargassum spp. in TCM and to identify future research needs.
A systematic search for the use of Sargassum in classical TCM books was conducted and linked to a search for modern phytochemical and pharmacological data on Sargassum spp. retrieved from PubMed, Web of Knowledge, SciFinder Scholar and CNKI (in Chinese).
The therapeutic effects of Sargassum spp. are scientifically plausible and may be explained partially by key in vivo and in vitro pharmacological activities of Sargassum, such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and antiviral activities. Although the mechanism of actions is still not clear, the pharmacological activities could be mainly attributed to the major biologically active metabolites, meroterpenoids, phlorotanins and fucoidans. The contribution of iodine in Sargassum for treating thyroid related diseases seem to have been over estimated.
The bioactive compounds in Sargassum spp. appear to play a role as immunomodulators and could be useful in the treatment of thyroid related diseases such as Hashimoto's thyroiditis. Further research is required to determine both the preventative and therapeutic role of Sargassum spp. in thyroid health.
近 2000 年来，马尾藻属（Sargassum spp.）这种褐藻一直被用于中医药（TCM）中，用于治疗各种疾病，包括甲状腺疾病（如甲状腺肿）。
评估马尾藻属在中医药中的治疗功效的科学证据，并确定未来的研究需求。
对经典中医药书籍中马尾藻的使用进行了系统搜索，并与从 PubMed、Web of Knowledge、SciFinder Scholar 和中国知网（CNKI）检索到的马尾藻属的现代植物化学和药理学数据进行了链接。
马尾藻属的治疗效果在科学上是合理的，其部分作用机制可能与马尾藻属的体内和体外关键药理学活性有关，如抗癌、抗炎、抗菌和抗病毒活性。尽管作用机制尚不清楚，但药理学活性主要归因于主要的生物活性代谢物，如二萜类、多酚类和褐藻胶。马尾藻属治疗甲状腺相关疾病的碘的作用似乎被高估了。
马尾藻属中的生物活性化合物似乎起到免疫调节剂的作用，可用于治疗甲状腺相关疾病，如桥本甲状腺炎。需要进一步研究以确定马尾藻属在甲状腺健康中的预防和治疗作用。
