Zhaoyi Wang1, Qing Xia2, Xin Liu1, Wenxue Liu1, Wanzhen Huang1, Xue Mei1, Jun Luo1, Mingxu Shan1, Ruichao Lin3, Dixin Zou4, Zhiqiang Ma5. 1. Beijing Key Lab for Quality Evaluation of Chinese Materia Medica, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100102, China. 2. Biology Institute of Shandong Academy of Sciences, Key Laboratory for Drug Screening Technology of Shandong Academy of Sciences, Shandong Provincial Engineering Laboratory for Biological Testing Technology, Key Laboratory for Biosensor of Shandong Province, Jinan 250014, China. 3. Beijing Key Lab for Quality Evaluation of Chinese Materia Medica, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100102, China. Electronic address: linrch307@sina.com. 4. College of Pharmacy, Inner Mongolia Medical University, Hohhot, Inner Mongolia 010110, China. Electronic address: 15047734762@163.com. 5. Beijing Key Lab for Quality Evaluation of Chinese Materia Medica, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing 100102, China. Electronic address: mazq1968@sina.com.
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Forsythiae Fructus (called Lianqiao in Chinese), the fruit of Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl, is utilized as a common traditional medicine in China, Japan and Korea. It is traditionally used to treat pyrexia, inflammation, gonorrhea, carbuncle and erysipelas. Depending on the different harvest time, Forsythiae Fructus can be classified into two forms, namely Qingqiao and Laoqiao. The greenish fruits that start to ripen are collected as Qingqiao, while the yellow fruits that are fully ripe are collected as Laoqiao. Both are applied to medical use. This review aims to provide a systematic summary of F. suspensa (Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl) and to reveal the correlation between the traditional uses and pharmacological activities so as to offer inspiration for future research. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All corresponding information about F. suspensa was searched by Scifinder and obtained from scientific databases including Springer, Science Direct, Wiley, Pubmed and China Knowledge Resource Integrated (CNKI). Local dissertations and books were searched as well. RESULTS: According to classical Chinese herbal texts and Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Forsythiae Fructus dominantly displays heat-clearing and detoxifying effects in TCM prescriptions. In modern research, more than 230 compounds were separated and identified from F. suspensa. 211 Of them were isolated from fruits. Lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides are considered as the characteristic and active constituents of this herb, such as forsythiaside, phillyrin, rutin and phillygenin. They exhibited anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-virus, anti-cancer and anti-allergy effects, etc. Currently, there is no report on the toxicity of Forsythiae Fructus, despite slight toxicity of forsythiaside reported in local publications. Compared to Laoqiao, Qingqiao contains higher levels of forsythiaside, forsythoside C, cornoside, rutin, phillyrin, gallic acid and chlorogenic acid and lower levels of rengyol, β-glucose and S-suspensaside methyl ether. CONCLUSION: Heat-clearing actions of Forsythiae Fructus are based on the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides. Detoxifying effects attribute to the antibacterial, antiviral and anti-cancer activities of Forsythiae Fructus. And traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) characteristics of Forsythiae Fructus (bitter flavor, slightly cold nature and lung meridian) supported its strong anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, the remarkable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities of Forsythiae Fructus contribute to its anti-cancer and neuroprotective activities. The higher proportion of lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides in Qingqiao than Laoqiao might explain the better antioxidant ability of Qingqiao and more frequent uses of Qingqiao in TCM prescriptions. For future research, more in vivo experiments and clinical studies are encouraged to further clarify the relation between traditional uses and modern applications. Regarding to Qingqiao and Laoqiao, they remain to be differentiated by all-round quality control methods, and the chemical compositions and clinical effects between them should be compared.
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Forsythiae Fructus (called Lianqiao in Chinese), the fruit of Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl, is utilized as a common traditional medicine in China, Japan and Korea. It is traditionally used to treat pyrexia, inflammation, gonorrhea, carbuncle and erysipelas. Depending on the different harvest time, Forsythiae Fructus can be classified into two forms, namely Qingqiao and Laoqiao. The greenish fruits that start to ripen are collected as Qingqiao, while the yellow fruits that are fully ripe are collected as Laoqiao. Both are applied to medical use. This review aims to provide a systematic summary of F. suspensa (Forsythia suspensa (Thunb.) Vahl) and to reveal the correlation between the traditional uses and pharmacological activities so as to offer inspiration for future research. MATERIALS AND METHODS: All corresponding information about F. suspensa was searched by Scifinder and obtained from scientific databases including Springer, Science Direct, Wiley, Pubmed and China Knowledge Resource Integrated (CNKI). Local dissertations and books were searched as well. RESULTS: According to classical Chinese herbal texts and Chinese Pharmacopoeia, Forsythiae Fructus dominantly displays heat-clearing and detoxifying effects in TCM prescriptions. In modern research, more than 230 compounds were separated and identified from F. suspensa. 211 Of them were isolated from fruits. Lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides are considered as the characteristic and active constituents of this herb, such as forsythiaside, phillyrin, rutin and phillygenin. They exhibited anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antibacterial, anti-virus, anti-cancer and anti-allergy effects, etc. Currently, there is no report on the toxicity of Forsythiae Fructus, despite slight toxicity of forsythiaside reported in local publications. Compared to Laoqiao, Qingqiao contains higher levels of forsythiaside, forsythoside C, cornoside, rutin, phillyrin, gallic acid and chlorogenic acid and lower levels of rengyol, β-glucose and S-suspensaside methyl ether. CONCLUSION: Heat-clearing actions of Forsythiae Fructus are based on the anti-inflammatory and antioxidant properties of lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides. Detoxifying effects attribute to the antibacterial, antiviral and anti-cancer activities of Forsythiae Fructus. And traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) characteristics of Forsythiae Fructus (bitter flavor, slightly cold nature and lung meridian) supported its strong anti-inflammatory effects. In addition, the remarkable anti-inflammatory and antioxidant capacities of Forsythiae Fructus contribute to its anti-cancer and neuroprotective activities. The higher proportion of lignans and phenylethanoid glycosides in Qingqiao than Laoqiao might explain the better antioxidant ability of Qingqiao and more frequent uses of Qingqiao in TCM prescriptions. For future research, more in vivo experiments and clinical studies are encouraged to further clarify the relation between traditional uses and modern applications. Regarding to Qingqiao and Laoqiao, they remain to be differentiated by all-round quality control methods, and the chemical compositions and clinical effects between them should be compared.
Authors: Wang Jun Yuan; Su Ping Zhang; Zhi Yin He; Yan Xia He; She Qi He; Li Jun Liu; Xin Sun; Qin Li Journal: Funct Integr Genomics Date: 2022-07-23 Impact factor: 3.674