Key Laboratory of Bioactive Substances and Resources Utilization of Chinese Herbal Medicine (Peking Union Medical College), Ministry of Education, Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Peking Union Medical College, Beijing 100193, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2018 Jun 12;219:50-70. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2018.02.039. Epub 2018 Feb 28.
Species of the genus Codonopsis are perennial herbs mainly distributed throughout East, Southeast and Central Asia. As recorded, they have been used as traditional Chinese medicines since the Qing Dynasty, where they were claimed for strengthening the spleen and tonifying the lung, as well as nourishing blood and engendering liquid. Some species are also used as food materials in southern China and Southeast Asia, such as tea, wine, soup, plaster, and porridge.
The review aims to assess the ethnopharmacological uses, explicit the material basis and pharmacological action, promote the safety of medical use, and suggest the future research potentials of Codonopsis.
Information on the studies of Codonopsis was collected from scientific journals, books, and reports via library and electronic data search (PubMed, Elsevier, Scopus, Google Scholar, Springer, Science Direct, Wiley, Researchgate, ACS, EMBASE, Web of Science and CNKI). Meanwhile, it was also obtained from published works of material medica, folk records, ethnopharmacological literatures, Ph.D. and Masters Dissertation. Plant taxonomy was confirmed to the database "The Plant List" (www.theplantlist.org).
Codonopsis has been used for medicinal purposes all around the world. Some species are also used as food materials in southern China and Southeast Asia. The chemical constituents of Codonopsis mainly are polyacetylenes, polyenes, flavonoids, lignans, alkaloids, coumarins, terpenoids, steroids, organic acids, saccharides, and so on. Extract of Codonopsis exhibit extensive pharmacological activities, including immune function regulation, hematopoiesis improvement, cardiovascular protection, neuroprotection, gastrointestinal function regulation, endocrine function regulation, cytotoxic and antibacterial effects, anti-aging and anti-oxidation, etc. Almost no obvious toxicity or side effect are observed and recorded for Codonopsis.
The traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Codonopsis are reviewed in this paper. Species of the genus have long been used as traditional medicines and food materials, they are reported with a large number of chemical constituents with different structures, extensive pharmacological activities in immune system, blood system, digestive system, etc. and almost no toxicity. More profound studies on less popular species, pharmacodynamic material basis and pharmacological mechanism, and quality assurance are suggested to be carried out to fulfil the research on the long-term clinical use and new drug research of Codonopsis.
党参属植物为多年生草本植物，主要分布于东亚、东南亚和中亚。有记载称，自清朝以来，它们一直被用作中药，具有健脾补肺、养血生津的功效。一些物种在中国南方和东南亚也被用作食品材料，如茶、酒、汤、膏药和粥。
本综述旨在评估党参的民族药理学用途，阐明其物质基础和药理作用，促进其药用安全性，并提出党参的未来研究潜力。
通过图书馆和电子数据检索（PubMed、Elsevier、Scopus、Google Scholar、Springer、Science Direct、Wiley、Researchgate、ACS、EMBASE、Web of Science 和中国知网），从科学期刊、书籍和报告中收集党参的研究信息。同时，还从本草著作、民间记录、民族药理学文献、博士和硕士论文中获取相关信息。植物分类学已被确认为数据库“植物名录”（www.theplantlist.org）。
党参在世界各地都被用作药用植物。一些物种在中国南方和东南亚也被用作食品材料。党参的化学成分主要有炔烃、多烯、黄酮类、木脂素、生物碱、香豆素、萜类、甾体、有机酸、糖类等。党参提取物具有广泛的药理活性，包括免疫功能调节、造血改善、心血管保护、神经保护、胃肠道功能调节、内分泌功能调节、细胞毒性和抗菌作用、抗衰老和抗氧化等。党参几乎没有明显的毒性或副作用。
本文综述了党参的传统用途、植物化学、药理学和毒理学。该属植物长期以来一直被用作传统药物和食品材料，它们具有大量不同结构的化学成分、广泛的免疫、血液、消化等系统的药理活性，且几乎无毒。建议对不太受欢迎的物种、药效物质基础和药理机制以及质量保证进行更深入的研究，以满足党参长期临床应用和新药研究的需要。
