Jing Sun1, Jia-Ni Liu2, Bei Fan2, Xiao-Nan Chen3, Dao-Ran Pang3, Jiao Zheng3, Qian Zhang3, Yun-Fang Zhao3, Wei Xiao4, Peng-Fei Tu5, Yue-Lin Song6, Jun Li7. 1. Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Agro-products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, 100193, China; Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China. 2. Institute of Food Science and Technology, Chinese Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Key Laboratory of Agro-products Processing, Ministry of Agriculture and Rural Affairs, Beijing, 100193, China. 3. Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China. 4. National Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical New Technology for Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Lianyungang, 222001, China. 5. Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China; National Key Laboratory of Pharmaceutical New Technology for Chinese Medicine, Jiangsu Kanion Pharmaceutical Co. Ltd., Lianyungang, 222001, China. 6. Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: syltwc2005@163.com. 7. Modern Research Center for Traditional Chinese Medicine, School of Chinese Materia Medica, Beijing University of Chinese Medicine, Beijing, 100029, China. Electronic address: drlj666@163.com.
Abstract
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dragon's blood (Chinese name: Xuejie), which comprises red resins obtained from several plants (27 species from 4 families), is drawing worldwide interests in medicinal applications owing to its broad pharmacological spectrum such as promoting blood circulation, regenerating muscle, relieving swelling and pain, maintaining hemostasis, etc. AIM OF THE STUDY: This work aims to evaluate current research progress on phenolic constituents, pharmacological activities, quality control, and metabolism of six Dracaena plants, namely, Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour.) S.C.Chen, D. cambodiana Pierre ex Gagnep., D. cinnabari Balf. f., D. draco (L.) L., D. loureiroi Gagnep., and D. schizantha Baker, figure out the shortcomings of existing studies, and provide meaningful guidelines for future investigations. METHODS: Extensive database retrieval, such as SciFinder, PubMed, CNKI, ChemSpider, etc., was performed by using the keywords "Dracaena," "dragon's blood," as well as the Latin names of the six Dracaena species. In addition, relevant textbooks, patents, reviews, and documents were also employed to ensure sufficient information is collected. RESULTS: Flavonoids and their oligomers are the primary chemical clusters distributed in Dracaena plants. Pharmacological activities including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, and cytotoxic effects; bi-directional regulation effects on hemorheology; and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular effects have been disclosed by modern pharmacological evaluations. The chemical and metabolic profiles after oral administration of dragon's blood extract were preliminarily characterized. However, some of the pharmacological investigations reported only elementary methodologies and unreliable findings, and even worse, some important aspects were questionable or missing in these articles. CONCLUSIONS: Dragon's blood is a valuable source of bioactive compounds, mainly flavonoids and their oligomers. Its potential therapeutic effects on different diseases are attractive, such as the notable effect on cardiovascular diseases. In future studies, there is an urgent need to test the effect of this extract on appropriate cell lines and animal models to analyze its ethnopharmacological applications; moreover, "composition-effect correlation" methods and omics technologies are demanded for identifying the effective material basis and therapeutic mechanisms before entering into clinical trials. Moreover, attention should be paid to the chemical profiling and quality evaluation of this precious herbal medicine.
ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE: Dragon's blood (Chinese name: Xuejie), which comprises red resins obtained from several plants (27 species from 4 families), is drawing worldwide interests in medicinal applications owing to its broad pharmacological spectrum such as promoting blood circulation, regenerating muscle, relieving swelling and pain, maintaining hemostasis, etc. AIM OF THE STUDY: This work aims to evaluate current research progress on phenolic constituents, pharmacological activities, quality control, and metabolism of six Dracaena plants, namely, Dracaena cochinchinensis (Lour.) S.C.Chen, D. cambodiana Pierre ex Gagnep., D. cinnabari Balf. f., D. draco (L.) L., D. loureiroi Gagnep., and D. schizantha Baker, figure out the shortcomings of existing studies, and provide meaningful guidelines for future investigations. METHODS: Extensive database retrieval, such as SciFinder, PubMed, CNKI, ChemSpider, etc., was performed by using the keywords "Dracaena," "dragon's blood," as well as the Latin names of the six Dracaena species. In addition, relevant textbooks, patents, reviews, and documents were also employed to ensure sufficient information is collected. RESULTS:Flavonoids and their oligomers are the primary chemical clusters distributed in Dracaena plants. Pharmacological activities including analgesic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, hypolipidemic, hypoglycemic, and cytotoxic effects; bi-directional regulation effects on hemorheology; and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular effects have been disclosed by modern pharmacological evaluations. The chemical and metabolic profiles after oral administration of dragon's blood extract were preliminarily characterized. However, some of the pharmacological investigations reported only elementary methodologies and unreliable findings, and even worse, some important aspects were questionable or missing in these articles. CONCLUSIONS:Dragon's blood is a valuable source of bioactive compounds, mainly flavonoids and their oligomers. Its potential therapeutic effects on different diseases are attractive, such as the notable effect on cardiovascular diseases. In future studies, there is an urgent need to test the effect of this extract on appropriate cell lines and animal models to analyze its ethnopharmacological applications; moreover, "composition-effect correlation" methods and omics technologies are demanded for identifying the effective material basis and therapeutic mechanisms before entering into clinical trials. Moreover, attention should be paid to the chemical profiling and quality evaluation of this precious herbal medicine.
Authors: Tran Thi Van Anh; Alilou Mostafa; Zhigang Rao; Simona Pace; Stefan Schwaiger; Christian Kretzer; Veronika Temml; Carsten Giesel; Paul M Jordan; Rossella Bilancia; Christina Weinigel; Silke Rummler; Birgit Waltenberger; Tran Hung; Antonietta Rossi; Hermann Stuppner; Oliver Werz; Andreas Koeberle Journal: Acta Pharm Sin B Date: 2021-04-20 Impact factor: 11.413