Artemisia anomala S. Moore: A review of botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and quality control.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Artemisia anomala S. Moore (family: Asteraceae) is a traditional herb that has been used for medicinal purposes in China for more than 1300 years. In traditional and local medicine, A. anomala is widely used in the treatment of rheumatic, dysmenorrhea, enteritis, hepatitis, hematuria and burn injury, and it is also considered as a natural botanical supplement in some areas, a traditional herb with both medicinal and edible properties. AIM OF THE REVIEW: The paper aims to provide a comprehensive overview of A. anomala, covering its botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activity, and quality control, and to summarize the current research status in order to better understand the application value of A. anomala as a traditional herbal medicine and provide references for its further development and utilization. MATERIALS AND METHODS: The relevant information on A. anomala was collected by searching a range of literature and electronic databases using "Artemisia anomala" as the key search term. These sources included both ancient and modern books, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, as well as various online databases such as PubMed, ScienceDirect, Wiley, ACS, CNKI, Springer, Taylor & Francis, Web of Science, Google Scholar, and Baidu Scholar. RESULTS: At present, 125 compounds have been isolated from A. anomala, including terpenoids, triterpenoids, flavonoids, phenylpropanoids, volatile oils and other compounds. Modern studies have confirmed that these active components have significant pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, anti-bacterial, hepatoprotective, anti-platelet aggregation and anti-oxidation. In modern clinic, A. anomala is widely used in the treatment of rheumatoid arthritis, dysmenorrhea, irregular menstruation, traumatic bleeding, hepatitis, soft tissue contusion, burn and scald. CONCLUSIONS: Long-term traditional medicinal history and a large number of modern in vitro and in vivo studies have confirmed that A. anomala has a wide range of biological activities, which can provide rich resources for the discovery of promising drug candidates and the development of new plant supplements. However, the research on the active components and molecular mechanism of A. anomala is insufficient, and more mechanism-based pharmacological evaluation and clinical research should be carried out to provide a more powerful scientific basis for its traditional use. In addition, the index components and determination standards of A. anomala should be established as soon as possible, so as to establish a systematic and effective quality control system.

Chinese endemic medicinal plant Bolbostemma paniculatum (Maxim.) Franquet: A comprehensive review.

Bolbostemma paniculatum (Maxim.) Franquet is a unique species in China with a long history of medicinal use, which has the effects of detoxifying, dissolving lumps and dispersing swellings. And it is commonly used to treat many diseases, such as carbuncle and sore, acute mastitis, mammary cancer, scrofula and subcutaneous nodule traditionally. Modern clinical studies have found that B. paniculatum and its compounds can be used for the treatment of a variety of cancers, mastitis, hyperplasia of mammary glands, chronic lymphadenitis, cervical lymph tuberculosis and surgical wart skin diseases, and the curative effect is positive. At present, a variety of Chinese patent medicines containing B. paniculatum have been exploited and marketed in China for the treatment of cancers, breast diseases and flat warts. This review article comprehensively discussed the traditional application, botany, chemical components, pharmacological activities, and quality control of B. paniculatum, put forward some noteworthy issues and suggestions in current studies, and briefly discussed the possible development potential of this plant as well as future research perspectives. 96 compounds have been isolated from B. paniculatum, including triterpenoids, sterols, alkaloids and other components, of which triterpenoid saponins are the main bioactive components. The crude extracts and monomer compounds of B. paniculatum have a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, immunoregulatory, and so on. Moreover, its anti-tumor mechanism involves many aspects, including inhibiting cell proliferation, promoting cell apoptosis, blocking the cell cycle, interfering with cell invasion and metastasis, suppressing angiogenesis, and regulating autophagy. While there is a lack of systematic and in-depth research on its anti-tumor active components and mechanism of action at the moment; and a tight connection between the chemical composition and pharmacological activity of B. paniculatum has also not been established. Besides, a systematic quality determination standard for B. paniculatum should also be built, in order to carry out further research.