College of Pharmacy, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2021 Jan 30;265:113325. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113325. Epub 2020 Sep 1.
Strobilanthes cusia (Nees) Kuntze (SCK, Malan), a traditional Chinese medicinal plant, has long applied to detoxification, defervescence, detumescence and antiphlogosis. "Southern Banlangen" (Rhizoma et Radix Baphicacanthis Cusiae, RRBC), root and rhizome of SCK, is widely used for treatment of many epidemic diseases. Malanye (Southern Daqingye), stem and leaf of SCK, is an antipyretic-alexipharmic drug frequently-used in southern China. Qingdai (Indigo Naturalis, IN), a processed product of SCK, is always applied to dermatoses in the folk.
In order to elucidate the historical uses, recent advances and pharmaceutical prospects of SCK, we summarized roundly in aspects of history, processing method, chemical constitution, quality control, pharmacological activity and toxicity. Some deficiencies in current studies and research directions in the future are also discussed. This is the first comprehensive review of SCK and its herbal medicines, which may be of some help for further research.
Comprehensive analysis was conducted on the basis of academic papers, pharmaceutical monographs, ancient medicinal works, and drug standards of China. All available information on SCK and its herbal medicines was collected by using the keywords such as "Strobilanthes cusia", "Southern Banlangen", "indirubin", "tryptanthrin" through different electronic databases including NCBI Pubmed, Google Scholar, Chinese National Knowledge Infrastructure and so on. Pharmacopoeia of China and some ancient works were obtained from National Digital Library of China.
Medicinal uses of SCK were already described by famous ancient researchers. Because of vague description, plant species in some works cannot be confirmed. Literature demonstrated that multiple components including total 36 alkaloids and 35 glycosides, the main bioactive components of SCK, were found in SCK and its herbal medicines. Modern studies indicated that SCK and some of its components had multiple pharmacological effects including resistance to cancer, remission of inflammation, suppression of microorganisms, relief of dermatoses, and so on. However, studies on pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, and quality control are still not enough.
A number of reports suggested that SCK and its processed medicines could be promising drug candidates for multiple diseases especially promyelocytic leukemia, ulcerative colitis (UC) and psoriasis. However, bioactive activities of most components, especially glycosides should still be explored further. It is crucial to elucidate the in-depth molecular mechanisms, and pharmacokinetic characteristics of main components in those herbal medicines. Moreover, to ensure the effectiveness of clinical medication, future studies should undoubtedly give the priority to clarifying the effective compositions of SCK, and then a measurement standard of those indicators should be protocolled to establish a comprehensive quality evaluation mode.
爵床科植物山蓝（Nees）Kuntze（SCK，马蓝）是一种传统的中药，长期以来一直被用于解毒、退热、消肿和抗炎。“南方板蓝根”（马蓝根茎，RRBC），即 SCK 的根和根茎，在中国南方被广泛用于治疗多种传染病。爵床科植物山蓝的茎叶（Malanye，南方大青叶）是中国南方常用的解热解毒药。蓝靛（Indigo Naturalis，IN）是 SCK 的一种加工产品，常用于民间皮肤病治疗。
为了阐明 SCK 及其草药的历史用途、最新进展和药物前景，我们全面总结了 SCK 在历史、炮制方法、化学成分、质量控制、药理活性和毒性等方面的情况。还讨论了当前研究中的一些不足和未来的研究方向。这是对 SCK 及其草药的首次全面综述，可能对进一步研究有所帮助。
在学术论文、药学专着、古代医学著作和中国药品标准的基础上进行综合分析。通过不同的电子数据库（包括 NCBI Pubmed、Google Scholar、中国国家知识基础设施等），使用“山蓝”、“南方板蓝根”、“靛玉红”、“色胺酮”等关键词收集了有关 SCK 及其草药的所有可用信息。中国药典和一些古代著作可从国家数字图书馆获得。
古代著名研究者已经描述了 SCK 的药用用途。由于描述不明确，一些作品中的植物种类无法确定。文献表明，SCK 及其草药中含有多种成分，包括 36 种总生物碱和 35 种糖苷，是其主要的生物活性成分。现代研究表明，SCK 及其部分成分具有多种药理作用，包括抗癌、缓解炎症、抑制微生物、治疗皮肤病等。然而，对其药理学、药代动力学和质量控制的研究仍不够充分。
大量报告表明，SCK 及其加工药物可能是多种疾病（特别是早幼粒细胞白血病、溃疡性结肠炎（UC）和银屑病）的有前途的候选药物。然而，大多数成分的生物活性作用，特别是糖苷，仍有待进一步研究。阐明这些草药中主要成分的深入分子机制和药代动力学特征至关重要。此外，为了确保临床用药的有效性，未来的研究无疑应优先阐明 SCK 的有效成分，然后制定这些指标的测量标准，建立全面的质量评价模式。
