Key Laboratory of Standardization of Chinese Herbal Medicines of Ministry of Education, Pharmacy College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, 610075, PR China; Department of Medicinal Botany, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai, 200433, PR China.
Phytother Res. 2014 Jul;28(7):961-75. doi: 10.1002/ptr.5083. Epub 2013 Dec 13.
Puerarin is the major bioactive ingredient isolated from the root of the Pueraria lobata (Willd.) Ohwi, which is well known as Gegen (Chinese name) in traditional Chinese medicine. As the most abundant secondary metabolite, puerarin was isolated from Gegen in the late 1950s. Since then, its pharmacological properties have been extensively investigated. It is available in common foods and is used in alternative medicine. It has been widely used in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes and diabetic complications, osteonecrosis, Parkinson's disease, Alzheimer's disease, endometriosis, and cancer. The beneficial effects of puerarin on the various medicinal purposes may be due to its wide spectrum of pharmacological properties such as vasodilation, cardioprotection, neuroprotection, antioxidant, anticancer, antiinflammation, alleviating pain, promoting bone formation, inhibiting alcohol intake, and attenuating insulin resistance. However, the direct molecular mechanisms and targets remain unclear. This review provides a comprehensive summary of the pharmacological effects of puerarin.
葛根素是从葛根（Willd.）Ohwi 的根部分离得到的主要生物活性成分，在传统中药中被称为葛根。作为最丰富的次生代谢物，葛根素于 20 世纪 50 年代末从葛根中分离得到。从那时起，其药理学特性就得到了广泛的研究。它存在于常见的食物中，并用于替代医学。它已广泛用于治疗心血管和脑血管疾病、糖尿病及其并发症、骨坏死、帕金森病、阿尔茨海默病、子宫内膜异位症和癌症。葛根素对各种药用目的的有益作用可能是由于其广泛的药理特性，如血管扩张、心脏保护、神经保护、抗氧化、抗癌、抗炎、止痛、促进骨形成、抑制饮酒和减轻胰岛素抵抗。然而，其直接的分子机制和靶点尚不清楚。本综述提供了对葛根素的药理学作用的全面总结。
