Department of Dermatology, Hospital of Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu, China.
Department of Anorectal Surgery, Third People's Hospital of Chengdu, Chengdu, China.
Phytother Res. 2022 Jun;36(6):2434-2448. doi: 10.1002/ptr.7470. Epub 2022 May 22.
Cortex fraxini is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine. Esculin is one of the main active ingredients of Cortex fraxini and has attracted more and more attention from scholars. The purpose of the review is to systematically review relevant studies on the pharmacological effects and pharmacokinetic characteristics of esculin to support its further application as therapeutic agents. Pharmacological studies have shown that the anti-inflammatory and anti-oxidative stress effects of esculin are outstanding. This indicates that esculin is promising to be used to treat a variety of diseases closely related to inflammation and oxidative damage. Esculin has anti-diabetic effect, which is closely related to improving pancreas damage, promoting insulin release, and enhancing glucose homeostasis. In addition, esculin has anti-cancer, antibiosis, anti-virus, neuroprotection, anti-thrombosis and treating eye diseases properties. Pharmacokinetic studies show that esculin can be quickly and evenly distributed in the body. However, the first pass effect of esculin is serious. In short, esculin is promising to treat many diseases, but further high quality studies are needed to firmly establish the clinical efficacy of esculin.
秦皮是一种广泛应用的中药，七叶内酯是秦皮的主要活性成分之一，越来越受到学者的关注。本综述的目的是系统地回顾七叶内酯的药理作用和药代动力学特征的相关研究，以支持其作为治疗剂的进一步应用。药理研究表明，七叶内酯具有显著的抗炎和抗氧化应激作用。这表明七叶内酯有望用于治疗多种与炎症和氧化损伤密切相关的疾病。七叶内酯具有降血糖作用，这与其改善胰腺损伤、促进胰岛素释放和增强葡萄糖稳态密切相关。此外，七叶内酯还具有抗癌、抗菌、抗病毒、神经保护、抗血栓形成和治疗眼病等作用。药代动力学研究表明，七叶内酯在体内能够快速、均匀地分布。然而，七叶内酯的首过效应较为严重。总之，七叶内酯有望治疗多种疾病，但需要进一步开展高质量的研究来确证七叶内酯的临床疗效。
