title: Renal toxic ingredients and their toxicology from traditional Chinese medicine.
abstract: BACKGROUND
  There have been increasing concerns regarding adverse reactions and toxicity incidents caused by traditional Chinese medicines (TCMs), among which the nephrotoxicity is particularly worrying.
  
  
  METHODS
  This review summarizes the ingredients with renal toxicity from some TCMs through searching the relevant literature published over the past two decades. Renal toxicity components from TCMs include aristolochic acids (AAS), alkaloids, anthraquinones and others. TCM renal toxicity is most commonly caused by AAS and some alkaloids. AAS mainly come from Aristolochia contorta Bunge, Aristolochia manshuriensis Kom, Clematis Chinensis Osbeck, Aristolochia cathcartii Hook. Some renal toxic alkaloids are derived from Tripterygium regelii Sprague et Takeda, Stephania tetrandra S. Moore, Strychnos nux-vomica Linn. and Aconitum carmichaeli Debx. A few kinds of anthraquinones, flavonoids, and glycosides from TCMs also cause renal toxicity. All of these renal toxicity components and their associated renal toxicity, structures and toxic mechanism are introduced in detail in this review.
  
  
  CONCLUSIONS
  Given the complexity of the toxic components, a lot of work needs to be done to analyze the specific modes of action of toxic components in vivo and in vitro, in particular, to elucidate the molecular mechanism of toxicity, in order to reduce the occurrence of renal toxicity of TCM.
authors.affiliation: a College of Food and Bioengineering , South China University of Technology , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Xi-Lin
authors.initials: XL
authors.lastname: Xu
authors.affiliation: a College of Food and Bioengineering , South China University of Technology , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Lin-Jiang
authors.initials: LJ
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: a College of Food and Bioengineering , South China University of Technology , Guangzhou , China.
authors.forename: Jian-Guo
authors.initials: JG
authors.lastname: Jiang
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000737:chemistry; D006801:Humans; D007674:Kidney Diseases / Q000139:chemically induced*; D008516:Medicine, Chinese Traditional / Q000009:adverse effects* / Q000379:methods
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
keywords: AAS; Traditional Chinese medicines; alkaloids; renal toxicity; toxicology