An updated review on the botany, phytochemistry, and pharmacological potential of the genus Caragana

IF 2.2 4区生物学 Q4 BIOCHEMISTRY & MOLECULAR BIOLOGY

Biochemical Systematics and Ecology Pub Date : 2026-01-01 Epub Date: 2025-11-06 DOI:10.1016/j.bse.2025.105165

Nailong Wang , Siru Wang , Shanshan Cai , Binrui Yu , Wei Lan

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引用次数: 0

Abstract

The genus Caragana, comprising species native to arid and semi-arid regions of Asia and Europe, plays a vital role in agricultural systems. These plants significantly contribute to environmental conservation by mitigating wind-induced soil erosion and stabilizing sand dunes. Additionally, Caragana species are employed as green manure to improve soil nutrient and improve water retention. Due to their high nutritional value, they are also considered as promising functional additives in both human and animal diets.

In China, Caragana has a long-standing history of use in various traditional medicinal systems, including Traditional Chinese Medicine, as well as Miao, Tibetan, and Mongolian ethnomedicine. Moreover, traditional herbal practices in countries such as Korea and Pakistan also incorporate these plants.

Phytochemical investigations of Caragana species have led to the identification of over 300 distinct compounds including flavonoids, terpenoids, stilbenoids, long-chain compounds, phenylpropanoids, alkaloids, steroids, and other bioactive constituents. Flavonoids, terpenoids, and stilbenoids represent the most abundant classes, with numerous members exhibiting a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities. In particular, the structural diversity and broad biological effects of stilbenoids derived from Caragana have garnered increasing research interest in recent years.

Pharmacological studies have evaluated crude extracts from at least 16 Caragana species and over 60 isolated compounds, revealing notable bioactivities such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, antiviral, neuroprotective, anticancer, hypoglycemic, cardioprotective, and gastrointestinal protective effects. These findings highlight the potential of Caragana species as valuable sources for drug discovery and development.

This review provides an up-to-date and comprehensive overview of the agricultural applications, phytochemical constituents, and pharmacological properties of the Caragana genus, aiming to facilitate future research and the broader utilization of these economically and medicinally important plants.

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锦鸡儿属植物的植物学、植物化学和药理潜力的最新综述

锦鸡儿属是亚洲和欧洲干旱和半干旱地区的原生物种，在农业系统中起着至关重要的作用。这些植物通过减少风蚀和稳定沙丘对环境保护有重要作用。另外，利用柠条作为绿肥，提高土壤养分和保水能力。由于其高营养价值，它们也被认为是人类和动物饮食中有前途的功能性添加剂。此外，韩国和巴基斯坦等国的传统草药也包括这些植物。对锦鸡儿的植物化学研究已经鉴定出300多种不同的化合物，包括黄酮类化合物、萜类化合物、茋类化合物、长链化合物、苯丙素、生物碱、类固醇和其他生物活性成分。黄酮类化合物、萜类化合物和二苯乙烯类化合物是最丰富的一类，有许多成员表现出广泛的药理活性。特别是，近年来，从锦鸡儿中提取的二苯乙烯类化合物的结构多样性和广泛的生物学效应引起了越来越多的研究兴趣。药理研究已经评估了至少16种锦鸡儿的粗提取物和60多种分离化合物，揭示了显著的生物活性，如抗炎、抗氧化、抗病毒、神经保护、抗癌、降血糖、心脏保护和胃肠道保护作用。这些发现突出了锦鸡儿作为药物发现和开发的宝贵资源的潜力。本文对锦鸡儿属植物的农业应用、化学成分和药理特性等方面进行了综述，旨在促进锦鸡儿属植物的进一步研究和开发利用。

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来源期刊

Biochemical Systematics and Ecology 生物-进化生物学

CiteScore

3.00

自引率

12.50%

发文量

147

审稿时长

43 days

期刊介绍： Biochemical Systematics and Ecology is devoted to the publication of original papers and reviews, both submitted and invited, in two subject areas: I) the application of biochemistry to problems relating to systematic biology of organisms (biochemical systematics); II) the role of biochemistry in interactions between organisms or between an organism and its environment (biochemical ecology). In the Biochemical Systematics subject area, comparative studies of the distribution of (secondary) metabolites within a wider taxon (e.g. genus or family) are welcome. Comparative studies, encompassing multiple accessions of each of the taxa within their distribution are particularly encouraged. Welcome are also studies combining classical chemosystematic studies (such as comparative HPLC-MS or GC-MS investigations) with (macro-) molecular phylogenetic studies. Studies that involve the comparative use of compounds to help differentiate among species such as adulterants or substitutes that illustrate the applied use of chemosystematics are welcome. In contrast, studies solely employing macromolecular phylogenetic techniques (gene sequences, RAPD studies etc.) will be considered out of scope. Discouraged are manuscripts that report known or new compounds from a single source taxon without addressing a systematic hypothesis. Also considered out of scope are studies using outdated and hard to reproduce macromolecular techniques such as RAPDs in combination with standard chemosystematic techniques such as GC-FID and GC-MS.