The aim of this
review is to collect together the results of the numerous studies over the last two decades on the pharmacological properties of palmatine published in scientific databases like Scopus and
PubMed, which are scattered across different
publications. Palmatine, an isoquinoline alkaloid from the class of protoberberines, is a yellow compound present in the extracts from different representatives of
Berberidaceae,
Papaveraceae,
Ranunculaceae, and
Menispermaceae. It has been extensively used in
traditional medicine of
Asia in the
treatment of
jaundice,
liver-related
diseases,
hypertension,
inflammation, and
dysentery. New findings describe its possible applications in the
treatment of
civilization diseases like
central nervous system-related problems. This
review intends to
let this alkaloid come out from the shade of a more frequently described alkaloid
berberine. The
toxicity,
pharmacokinetics, and biological activities of this protoberberine alkaloid
will be developed in this
work.