A review of botany, ethnomedicine, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Sarcandra species

Background: Sarcandra is one of the five genera of Chloranthaceae, which has a long history of medicinal use and high medicinal value, with excellent therapeutic effects on liver cancer, pneumonia, colitis, bone fractures, and dysentery. Among its species, Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai has been extensively utilized in diverse compound formulations, toothpaste, tea, daily commodities, as well as health supplements. Therefore, in terms of its medicinal properties and effectiveness, the genus has considerable potential for development and utilization.

Purpose: This paper presents a systematic review of the botany, ethnomedicine, phytochemistry, pharmacology, and toxicology of Sarcandra plants, aiming to deepen our understanding of Sarcandra properties further, to provide a reference for the rational utilization of Sarcandra plant resources, and at the same time laying a foundation for the development of new medicines and the study of natural products.

Methods: In this paper, we collected information about Sarcandra species through PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, Baidu Scholar, Google Scholar, CNKI, and other databases using the keywords Sarcandra, botany, traditional uses, chemical compounds, pharmacology and toxicology. Its botanical-related information was obtained through the Flora of China (www.iplant.cn).

Results: Three species of Sarcandra plants worldwide are distributed from eastern Asia to India. This genus has a long history of medicinal uses, high medicinal value, and a wide range of applications. At present, 462 compounds have been isolated and identified from Sarcandra plants, and their diversity contributes to the diversity of the pharmacological effects of Sarcandra plants. Numerous studies have shown that Sarcandra plants exhibit significant antitumor, antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, antimalarial, antiviral, antithrombocytopenia, immunomodulatory, antioxidant, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic and hypolipidemic effects, with low toxicity and side effects. However, most studies have focused on Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai and studies on other plants of the genus have yet to be explored.

Conclusions: Sarcandra plants have a wide range of clinical uses and diverse chemical compounds. However, the main research has been concentrated on Sarcandra glabra (Thunb.) Nakai, and future research should explore the medicinal properties of other Sarcandra plants to expand their potential clinical applications. Meanwhile, the pharmacological activities of compounds from Sarcandra species need to be studied in greater depth and detail to provide an appropriate scientific basis for developing new drugs and natural product research.