title: Portulaca oleracea L.: a review of phytochemistry and pharmacological effects.
abstract: Portulaca oleracea L., belonging to the Portulacaceae family, is commonly known as purslane in English and Ma-Chi-Xian in Chinese. It is a warm-climate, herbaceous succulent annual plant with a cosmopolitan distribution. It is eaten extensively as a potherb and added in soups and salads around the Mediterranean and tropical Asian countries and has been used as a folk medicine in many countries. Diverse compounds have been isolated from Portulaca oleracea, such as flavonoids, alkaloids, polysaccharides, fatty acids, terpenoids, sterols, proteins vitamins and minerals. Portulaca oleracea possesses a wide spectrum of pharmacological properties such as neuroprotective, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, antiulcerogenic, and anticancer activities. However, few molecular mechanisms of action are known. This review provides a summary of phytochemistry and pharmacological effects of this plant.
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Standardization of Chinese Herbal Medicines of Ministry of Education, Pharmacy College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610075, China ; Central Laboratory, Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital, Shanghai 200137, China.
authors.forename: Yan-Xi
authors.initials: YX
authors.lastname: Zhou
authors.affiliation: Department of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Changhai Hospital, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China ; Department of Pharmacognosy, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Hai-Liang
authors.initials: HL
authors.lastname: Xin
authors.affiliation: School of Pharmacy and Biomolecular Sciences, Faculty of Science, Liverpool John Moores University, Liverpool L3 3AF, UK.
authors.forename: Khalid
authors.initials: K
authors.lastname: Rahman
authors.affiliation: Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Su-Juan
authors.initials: SJ
authors.lastname: Wang
authors.affiliation: Key Laboratory of Standardization of Chinese Herbal Medicines of Ministry of Education, Pharmacy College, Chengdu University of Traditional Chinese Medicine, Chengdu 610075, China.
authors.forename: Cheng
authors.initials: C
authors.lastname: Peng
authors.affiliation: Central Laboratory, Shanghai Seventh People's Hospital, Shanghai 200137, China ; Department of Pharmaceutical Botany, School of Pharmacy, Second Military Medical University, Shanghai 200433, China.
authors.forename: Hong
authors.initials: H
authors.lastname: Zhang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D006801:Humans; D008519:Medicine, Traditional / Q000379:methods; D008517:Phytotherapy / Q000379:methods; D010936:Plant Extracts / Q000494:pharmacology* / Q000627:therapeutic use*; D031822:Portulaca / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D010936:Plant Extracts