Pharmacology, phytochemistry, and traditional uses of Huperzia serrata (Thunb. ex Murray) Trev.

Abstract

Huperzia serrata (HS) has been a staple of traditional Chinese medicine for centuries, revered for its efficacy in treating various ailments such as pain relief, hemostasis, detoxification, dehumidification, and heat clearing. This review offers an in-depth summary of the botany, traditional utilization, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, phytochemistry, and safety profile of HS and intends to shed light on potential future research directions and applications of this plant. Information on HS was gathered from ScienceDirect, PubMed, Springer, Sci Finder, Baidu Scholar, and Google Scholar. Over 94 compounds have been separated and identified from HS, including alkaloids, terpenoids, volatile oils, flavonoids, and polysaccharides. Both crude extracts and purified compounds from HS have shown promise in treating a spectrum of conditions, including Alzheimer's disease, epilepsy, pain, cancer, and inflammation. These extracts and compounds exhibit diverse pharmacological properties, including neuroprotective, anti-Alzheimer's, anti-epileptic, analgesic, cardioprotective, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, and anticancer activities. Pharmacological investigations support the traditional use of HS and may validate the folk medicinal use of HS to treat many chronic diseases. Current literature suggests that the bioactivity of HS is largely attributed to its alkaloids and polysaccharides. However, further exploration is warranted to comprehensively understand the structure-function relationship of these constituents, molecular mechanisms, and their potential synergistic and antagonistic interactions. Moreover, additional modern pharmacological explorations are necessary to validate the traditional use of HS such as promoting hemostasis, treating tuberculosis, hemorrhoids, and diarrhea. Therefore, there is a pressing need for comprehensive investigations to fully assess HS' medicinal properties and therapeutic potential.