title: Phytochemistry and pharmacology of Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus, a traditional Chinese medicine.
abstract: Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus (Xiebai in Chinese), as a famous traditional Chinese medicine, has great medicinal and dietary values since ancient times. In China, the dry bulbs of Allium macrostemon and Allium chinense are both used as its original plants. Pharmacological studies have revealed that both of them could increase plasminogen activator activity and prolong the effect of coagulation to achieve antiplatelet aggregation which validates their traditional uses for the treatment of thoracic obstruction and cardialgia in clinics. Besides, several other significant activities, including lipid-lowering, anti-atherosclerosis, antitumor, antispasmodic, antibacterial, antioxidant, and insecticidal activities, have already been reported. The volatile oils, nitrogenous compounds, and steroidal saponins are the major beneficial compounds. Among them, steroidal saponins are considered as the characteristic constituents. In this review, the current information concerning the phytochemistry and pharmacology of Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus is summarized comprehensively. In addition, several research future perspectives are presented, especially the mechanism of bioactive components and fraction from the bulbs of Allium macrostemon and Allium chinense.
authors: College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China. Electronic address: yaozhihong.jnu@gmail.com.
authors: Zhi-Hong
authors: ZH
authors: Yao
authors: College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors: Zi-Fei
authors: ZF
authors: Qin
authors: College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China.
authors: Yi
authors: Y
authors: Dai
authors: College of Pharmacy, Jinan University, Guangzhou 510632, China; State Key Laboratory of Quality Research in Chinese Medicine, Macau University of Science and Technology, Avenida Wai Long, Taipa, Macau, China. Electronic address: tyaoxs@jnu.edu.cn.
authors: Xin-Sheng
authors: XS
authors: Yao
mesh_terms: D000490:Allium / Q000737:chemistry*; D000818:Animals; D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal / Q000737:chemistry* / Q000494:pharmacology*; D006801:Humans; D018517:Plant Roots / Q000737:chemistry; D013329:Structure-Activity Relationship
chemical_list: D004365:Drugs, Chinese Herbal
keywords: Allii Macrostemonis Bulbus; Allium chinense; Allium macrostemon; Future perspectives; Pharmacology; Phytochemistry