Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines of the Changbai Mountain, Ministry of Education, College of Pharmacy, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin Province, 133002, China; Key Laboratory for Traditional Chinese Korean Medicine of Jilin Province, College of Pharmacy, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin Province 133002, China.
Key Laboratory of Natural Medicines of the Changbai Mountain, Ministry of Education, College of Pharmacy, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin Province, 133002, China; Key Laboratory for Traditional Chinese Korean Medicine of Jilin Province, College of Pharmacy, Yanbian University, Yanji, Jilin Province 133002, China; Clinical Research Centre, Yanbian University Hospital, Yanji, Jilin Province 133002, China.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2021 Jan 10;264:113391. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2020.113391. Epub 2020 Sep 12.
As the largest genus of Gentianaceae family, the Gentiana genus harbors over 400 species, widely distributed in the alpine areas of temperate regions worldwide. Plants from Gentiana genus are traditionally used to treat a wide variety of diseases including easing pain dispelling rheumatism, and treating liver jaundice, chronic pharyngitis and arthritis in China since ancient times. In this review, a systematic and constructive overview of the traditional uses, phytochemistry, molecular mechanisms, toxicology and pharmacological activities of the researched species of genus Gentiana is provided.
The used information in this review is based on various databases (PubMed, Science Direct, Wiley online library, Wanfang Data, Web of Science) through a search using the keyword "Gentiana" in the period of 1981-2019. Besides, other ethnopharmacological information was acquired from Chinese herbal classic books and Chinese pharmacopoeia 2015 edition.
The plants from Gentiana genus have a long tradition of various medicinal uses in Europe and Asia. Phytochemical studies showed that the main bioactive components isolated from this genus includes iridoids xanthones and flavonoids. These compounds and extracts isolated from this genus show a wide range of protective activities including hepatic protection, gastrointestinal protection, cardiovascular protection, immunomodulation, joint protection, pulmonary protection, bone protection and reproductive protection. Molecular mechanism studies also indicated several potential therapeutic targets in the treatment of certain diseases by plants from this genus. Besides, natural products from this plant show no significant animal toxicity, cytotoxicity or genotoxicity.
This review summarized the traditional medicinal uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology, toxicology and molecular mechanism of genus Gentiana, providing references and research tendency for plant-based drug development and further clinical studies.
作为龙胆科最大的属，龙胆属拥有超过 400 种物种，广泛分布于全球温带地区的高山地区。自古以来，中国传统医学就使用该属植物来治疗各种疾病，包括缓解疼痛、祛风湿、治疗黄疸、慢性咽炎和关节炎。在这篇综述中，对研究过的龙胆属植物的传统用途、植物化学、分子机制、毒理学和药理学活性进行了系统和建设性的概述。
本综述中使用的信息基于各种数据库（PubMed、Science Direct、Wiley online library、万方数据、Web of Science），通过在 1981 年至 2019 年期间使用关键字“Gentiana”进行搜索。此外，其他民族药理学信息来自中草药经典书籍和《中国药典》2015 年版。
龙胆属植物在欧洲和亚洲具有悠久的各种药用传统。植物化学研究表明，该属分离出的主要生物活性成分包括环烯醚萜、黄酮类化合物。从该属中分离得到的这些化合物和提取物具有广泛的保护活性，包括肝保护、胃肠道保护、心血管保护、免疫调节、关节保护、肺保护、骨保护和生殖保护。分子机制研究还表明，该属植物中的某些化合物可能成为治疗某些疾病的潜在治疗靶点。此外，该属植物的天然产物对动物无明显毒性、细胞毒性或遗传毒性。
本综述总结了龙胆属植物的传统药用用途、植物化学、药理学、毒理学和分子机制，为植物药的开发和进一步的临床研究提供了参考和研究方向。
