{"title":"水蛭的传统用途、化学成分、药理活性和毒理学研究综述。","authors":"Jingbo Liu, Lingna Wang, Wenna Duan, Yongqing Zhang, Qiu Jiang","doi":"10.1016/j.jep.2025.120634","DOIUrl":null,"url":null,"abstract":"<div><h3>Ethnopharmacological relevance</h3><div>The Chinese medicinal leech (<em>Shuizhi</em> in Chinese) has been widely used in traditional Asian medicine, particularly in China, to treat blood stasis-related disorders, including hematological diseases, gynecological diseases, trauma, arthritis, and edema.</div></div><div><h3>Aim of the study</h3><div>This review systematically evaluates leech's traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, and toxicology, aiming to provide insights for its further development and utilization.</div></div><div><h3>Material and methods</h3><div>The relevant information of leech was obtained from several databases. Moreover, the medical books, PhD and MSc dissertations in Chinese were also used to perform this work.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Traditional uses of leech have lasted for millennia in China. Within the past decades, approximately 100 chemical constituents, including proteins, peptides, amino acid, lipids, sterols, fatty acid esters, and trace elements, have been identified from leech. Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed numerous bioactivities of leech, such as anticoagulant activity, antithrombotic activity, antiatherosclerotic activity, anti-fibrotic activity, anti-inflammatory activity. Additionally, toxicity studies confirm its safety.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Based on the summary of the research work of leech, we systematically show the traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and toxicology studies. Leech is a renowned traditional ethnic medicine with numerous pharmacological activities attributed to its bioactive components, and are being actively developed for uses other than traditional uses. Modern pharmacological research primarily focuses on its cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system effect. Therefore, it is important to further explore its pharmacological activities and fill the research gaps related to other traditional uses and chemical constituents. In addition, its safety studies should be expanded to prepare for clinical use.</div></div>","PeriodicalId":15761,"journal":{"name":"Journal of ethnopharmacology","volume":"355 ","pages":"Article 120634"},"PeriodicalIF":5.4000,"publicationDate":"2025-09-23","publicationTypes":"Journal Article","fieldsOfStudy":null,"isOpenAccess":false,"openAccessPdf":"","citationCount":"0","resultStr":"{\"title\":\"Traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and toxicology of Chinese medicinal leech (Shuizhi): A comprehensive review\",\"authors\":\"Jingbo Liu, Lingna Wang, Wenna Duan, Yongqing Zhang, Qiu Jiang\",\"doi\":\"10.1016/j.jep.2025.120634\",\"DOIUrl\":null,\"url\":null,\"abstract\":\"<div><h3>Ethnopharmacological relevance</h3><div>The Chinese medicinal leech (<em>Shuizhi</em> in Chinese) has been widely used in traditional Asian medicine, particularly in China, to treat blood stasis-related disorders, including hematological diseases, gynecological diseases, trauma, arthritis, and edema.</div></div><div><h3>Aim of the study</h3><div>This review systematically evaluates leech's traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, and toxicology, aiming to provide insights for its further development and utilization.</div></div><div><h3>Material and methods</h3><div>The relevant information of leech was obtained from several databases. Moreover, the medical books, PhD and MSc dissertations in Chinese were also used to perform this work.</div></div><div><h3>Results</h3><div>Traditional uses of leech have lasted for millennia in China. Within the past decades, approximately 100 chemical constituents, including proteins, peptides, amino acid, lipids, sterols, fatty acid esters, and trace elements, have been identified from leech. Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed numerous bioactivities of leech, such as anticoagulant activity, antithrombotic activity, antiatherosclerotic activity, anti-fibrotic activity, anti-inflammatory activity. Additionally, toxicity studies confirm its safety.</div></div><div><h3>Conclusion</h3><div>Based on the summary of the research work of leech, we systematically show the traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and toxicology studies. Leech is a renowned traditional ethnic medicine with numerous pharmacological activities attributed to its bioactive components, and are being actively developed for uses other than traditional uses. Modern pharmacological research primarily focuses on its cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system effect. Therefore, it is important to further explore its pharmacological activities and fill the research gaps related to other traditional uses and chemical constituents. In addition, its safety studies should be expanded to prepare for clinical use.</div></div>\",\"PeriodicalId\":15761,\"journal\":{\"name\":\"Journal of ethnopharmacology\",\"volume\":\"355 \",\"pages\":\"Article 120634\"},\"PeriodicalIF\":5.4000,\"publicationDate\":\"2025-09-23\",\"publicationTypes\":\"Journal Article\",\"fieldsOfStudy\":null,\"isOpenAccess\":false,\"openAccessPdf\":\"\",\"citationCount\":\"0\",\"resultStr\":null,\"platform\":\"Semanticscholar\",\"paperid\":null,\"PeriodicalName\":\"Journal of ethnopharmacology\",\"FirstCategoryId\":\"3\",\"ListUrlMain\":\"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874125013261\",\"RegionNum\":2,\"RegionCategory\":\"医学\",\"ArticlePicture\":[],\"TitleCN\":null,\"AbstractTextCN\":null,\"PMCID\":null,\"EPubDate\":\"\",\"PubModel\":\"\",\"JCR\":\"Q1\",\"JCRName\":\"CHEMISTRY, MEDICINAL\",\"Score\":null,\"Total\":0}","platform":"Semanticscholar","paperid":null,"PeriodicalName":"Journal of ethnopharmacology","FirstCategoryId":"3","ListUrlMain":"https://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0378874125013261","RegionNum":2,"RegionCategory":"医学","ArticlePicture":[],"TitleCN":null,"AbstractTextCN":null,"PMCID":null,"EPubDate":"","PubModel":"","JCR":"Q1","JCRName":"CHEMISTRY, MEDICINAL","Score":null,"Total":0}
Traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and toxicology of Chinese medicinal leech (Shuizhi): A comprehensive review
Ethnopharmacological relevance
The Chinese medicinal leech (Shuizhi in Chinese) has been widely used in traditional Asian medicine, particularly in China, to treat blood stasis-related disorders, including hematological diseases, gynecological diseases, trauma, arthritis, and edema.
Aim of the study
This review systematically evaluates leech's traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities, and toxicology, aiming to provide insights for its further development and utilization.
Material and methods
The relevant information of leech was obtained from several databases. Moreover, the medical books, PhD and MSc dissertations in Chinese were also used to perform this work.
Results
Traditional uses of leech have lasted for millennia in China. Within the past decades, approximately 100 chemical constituents, including proteins, peptides, amino acid, lipids, sterols, fatty acid esters, and trace elements, have been identified from leech. Modern pharmacological studies have confirmed numerous bioactivities of leech, such as anticoagulant activity, antithrombotic activity, antiatherosclerotic activity, anti-fibrotic activity, anti-inflammatory activity. Additionally, toxicity studies confirm its safety.
Conclusion
Based on the summary of the research work of leech, we systematically show the traditional uses, chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and toxicology studies. Leech is a renowned traditional ethnic medicine with numerous pharmacological activities attributed to its bioactive components, and are being actively developed for uses other than traditional uses. Modern pharmacological research primarily focuses on its cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system effect. Therefore, it is important to further explore its pharmacological activities and fill the research gaps related to other traditional uses and chemical constituents. In addition, its safety studies should be expanded to prepare for clinical use.
期刊介绍:
The Journal of Ethnopharmacology is dedicated to the exchange of information and understandings about people''s use of plants, fungi, animals, microorganisms and minerals and their biological and pharmacological effects based on the principles established through international conventions. Early people confronted with illness and disease, discovered a wealth of useful therapeutic agents in the plant and animal kingdoms. The empirical knowledge of these medicinal substances and their toxic potential was passed on by oral tradition and sometimes recorded in herbals and other texts on materia medica. Many valuable drugs of today (e.g., atropine, ephedrine, tubocurarine, digoxin, reserpine) came into use through the study of indigenous remedies. Chemists continue to use plant-derived drugs (e.g., morphine, taxol, physostigmine, quinidine, emetine) as prototypes in their attempts to develop more effective and less toxic medicinals.