Department of Pharmacy, The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of PLA, Lanzhou, 730050, PR China.
Department of Pharmacy, The 940th Hospital of Joint Logistic Support Force of PLA, Lanzhou, 730050, PR China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2020 Jul 15;257:112829. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.112829. Epub 2020 Apr 18.
Gardenia jasminoides Ellis is a popular shrub in the Rubiaceae family. The desiccative ripe fruits of this plant (called Zhizi in China) are well known and frequently used not only as an excellent natural colourant, but also as an important traditional medicine for the treatment of different diseases, such as reducing fire except vexed, clearing away heat evil, and cooling blood and eliminating stasis to activate blood circulation. It has also been declared as the first batch of dual-purpose plants used for food and medical functions in China.
This review aims to provide a critical and systematic summary of the traditional uses, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicity and industrial applications of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis and briefly proposes several suggestions for future application prospects.
The related information on Gardenia jasminoides Ellis was obtained from internationally recognized scientific databases through the Internet (PubMed, CNKI, Google Scholar, Baidu Scholar, Web of Science, Medline Plus, ACS, Elsevier and Flora of China) and libraries.
Approximately 162 chemical compounds have been isolated and identified from this herb. Among them, iridoid glycosides and yellow pigment are generally considered the main bioactive and characteristic ingredients. Various pharmacological properties, such as a beneficial effect on the nervous, cardiovascular and digestive systems, hepatoprotective activity, antidepressant activity, and anti-inflammatory activity, were also validated in vitro and in vivo. Moreover, geniposide and genipin are the most important iridoid compounds isolated from Gardenia jasminoides Ellis, and genipin is the aglycone of geniposide. As the predominant active ingredient with a distinct pharmacological activity, genipin is also an outstanding biological crosslinking agent. Gardenia yellow pigment has also been widely used as an excellent natural dye-stuff. Hence, Gardenia jasminoides Ellis has been applied to many other fields, including the food industry, textile industry and chemical industry, in addition to its predominant medicinal uses.
According to this review, Gardenia jasminoides Ellis is outstanding traditional medical plant used in medicine and food. Pharmacological investigations support the traditional use of this herb and may validate the folk medicinal use of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis to treat different diseases. Iridoid glycosides are potential medicines. Gardenia yellow pigment has been the most important source of a natural colourant for food, cloth and paint for thousands of years. This herb has made great contributions to human survival and development. Moreover, it has also achieved outstanding progress in human life and even in art. Although Gardenia jasminoides Ellis has extremely high and comprehensive utilization values, it is still far from being completely explored. Therefore, the comprehensive development of Gardenia jasminoides Ellis deserves further analysis.
栀子为茜草科栀子属植物。栀子的干燥成熟果实（在中国被称为“栀子”）是一种广受欢迎的灌木，不仅被广泛用作优质天然着色剂，还被广泛用作治疗各种疾病的重要传统药物，如降火除烦、清热利湿、凉血化瘀等。它也被宣布为中国第一批具有食用和药用双重功能的两用植物。
本综述旨在对栀子的传统用途、民族药理学、植物化学、药理学、毒性和工业应用进行批判性和系统的总结，并简要提出了未来应用前景的几点建议。
通过互联网（PubMed、CNKI、Google Scholar、百度学术、Web of Science、Medline Plus、ACS、Elsevier 和《中国植物志》）和图书馆从国际公认的科学数据库中获取栀子的相关信息。
从该植物中已分离鉴定出约 162 种化合物。其中，环烯醚萜苷和黄色素一般被认为是主要的生物活性和特征成分。各种药理学特性，如对神经系统、心血管系统和消化系统的有益作用、保肝活性、抗抑郁活性和抗炎活性，也在体外和体内得到了验证。此外，京尼平苷和京尼平是从栀子中分离得到的最重要的环烯醚萜类化合物，而京尼平是京尼平苷的苷元。作为具有显著药理活性的主要活性成分，京尼平也是一种出色的生物交联剂。栀子黄色素也被广泛用作一种优良的天然染料。因此，栀子除了主要的药用用途外，还被应用于食品工业、纺织工业和化学工业等许多其他领域。
根据本综述，栀子是一种用于医药和食品的杰出传统药用植物。药理学研究支持这种草药的传统用途，并可能验证民间使用栀子治疗各种疾病的药用价值。环烯醚萜苷类化合物具有潜在的药用价值。栀子黄色素几千年来一直是食品、布料和油漆的最重要天然着色剂来源。这种植物为人类的生存和发展做出了巨大贡献。此外，它甚至在人类生活甚至艺术中也取得了卓越的进步。尽管栀子具有极高和综合的利用价值，但它仍远未被完全开发。因此，栀子的综合开发值得进一步分析。
