A Comprehensive Review of Genus Sanguisorba: Traditional Uses, Chemical Constituents and Medical Applications

Genus Sanguisorba (family: Rosaceae) comprises nearly 148 species, distributed widely across the temperate and subtropical regions of the Northern Hemisphere. Sanguisorba officinalis L. (S. officinalis) has been used as a hemostatic and scald treating medicine in China for a long time. Numerous studies have demonstrated that plant extracts or monomers from S. officinalis exhibit several pharmacological effects, such as anti-cancer, anti-virus, anti-inflammation, anti-bacteria, neuroprotective and hepatoprotective effects. The other species of genus Sanguisorba are also being studied by researchers worldwide. Sanguisorba minor Scop. (S. minor), as an edible wild plant, is a common ingredient of the Mediterranean diet, and its young shoots and leaves are often mixed with traditional vegetables and consumed as salad. Reports on genus Sanguisorba available in the current literature were collected from Google Scholar, Web of Science, Springer, and PubMed. The Plant List (http://www.theplantlist.org./tpl1.1/search?q=Sanguisorba), International Plant Name Index (https://www.ipni.org/?q=Sanguisorba) and Kew Botanical Garden (http://powo.science.kew.org/) were used for obtaining the scientific names and information on the subspecies and cultivars. In recent years, several in vivo and in vitro experiments have been conducted to reveal the active components and effective monomers of S. officinalis and S. minor. To date, more than 270 compounds have been isolated and identified so far fr...
Source: Frontiers in Pharmacology - Category: Drugs & Pharmacology Source Type: research