Ethnopharmacological relevance: Polygonati Rhizoma (PR), which contains rich national cultural connotations, is a traditional Chinese medicine with homology of medicine and food. It has been used for a long time as a tonic in China's multi-ethnic medical system, and is also used to treat diseases such as premature graying hair, deficiency of blood and essence, diabetes, hypertension, etc. Meanwhile, PR is often used as food in China, India, South Korea and other Asian countries, which can satisfy hunger and provide many health benefits.
Aim of the review: This paper systematically reviewed the ethnopharmacology, botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology and related applications research of PR, and provided a reference for the comprehensive applications of PR, including basic research, product development and clinical applications. This paper also refined the national application characteristics of PR, such as rich plant resources, special chemical components and anti-hidden hungry, which laid a foundation for its high value and high connotation development in the future.
Materials and methods: The literature information was collected systematically from the electronic scientific databases, including PubMed, Science Direct, Google Scholar, Web of Science, Geen Medical, China National Knowledge Infrastructure, as well as other literature sources, such as classic books of herbal medicine.
Results: A comprehensive analysis of the above literature confirmed that PR has been used in the ethnic medicine system of Asian countries such as China for thousands of years. In this paper, 12 species including official species that can be used as PR are summarized, which provide rich plant resources for PR. The chemical components in PR are divided into nutritional components and active components. The former not only contains non-starch polysaccharides and fructo-oligosaccharides, which account for about 50% in PR and are recognized as high-quality diet in the world, but also contains inorganic elements and mineral elements. And a total of 199 kinds active ingredients, including saponins, flavonoids, alkaloids, etc., were sorted out by us. The above ingredients make PR have a special property of anti-hidden hunger. Studies have shown that PR has a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as immune regulation, blood glucose regulation, lipid-lowering, antioxidant, anti-tumor, antibacterial, etc. It has been widely used in medicine, food, cosmetics, gardens and other fields.
Conclusions: PR, as a classic medicinal material of the same origin, is widely used in the traditional ethnic medicine system. It contains abundant potential plant resources, chemical components and pharmacological activities. This paper also suggests that PR with high application value in food industry, has the potential to become a high-quality coarse grain. Exploring the way of grain and industrialization of PR is beneficial to fully develop the economic value of PR.
Keywords: Applications; Ethnopharmacology; Pharmacology; Phytochemistry; Polygonati Rhizoma.
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