A comprehensive review of Rubia cordifolia L.: Traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacological activities, and clinical applications

Abstract

Rubia cordifolia (family: Rubiaceae) L (R. cordifolia) is a perennial botanical drug climbing vine. As the main part of the traditional Chinese medicine, the rhizome has a long history. A great number of literary studies have reported that it can be used for the improvement of blood circulation, hemostasis, activation of collaterals, etc. When it comes to the wide application of R. cordifolia in traditional medicine, we systematically review its traditional uses, phytochemistry and pharmacological effects. Literatures were systematically searched using several scientific databases, including China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI), Baidu Scholar, PubMed, Web of Science, and other professional websites. Kew Botanical Garden and the iPlant were used for obtaining the scientific names and plant images of R. cordifolia. In addition, other information was also gathered from books including traditional Chinese herbal medicine, the Chinese Pharmacopoeia, and Chinese Materia Medica. So far, many prescriptions containing R. cordifolia have been widely used in the clinical treatment of abnormal uterine bleeding, primary dysmenorrhea and other gynecological diseases, allergic purpura, renal hemorrhage and other diseases. The phytochemistry studies have reported that more than 100 compounds are found in R. cordifolia, such as bicyclic peptides, terpenes, polysaccharides, trace elements, flavonoids, and quinones. Among them, quinones and peptides are the types of components with the highest contents in R. cordifolia. The modern pharmacological studies have revealed that R. cordifolia and its derived components have anti-tumor, anti-oxidative, anti-platelet aggregation, and anti-inflammatory effects. However, most studies are preclinical. The pharmacological mechanism of R. cordifolia has not been thoroughly studied. In addition, there are few pharmacokinetic and toxicity studies of R. cordifolia, therefore the clinical safety data for R. cordifolia is lacking. To sum up, this review for the first time summarizes a systemic and integrated traditional uses, chemical compositions, pharmacological actions and clinical applications of R. cordifolia, which provides the novel and full-scale insight for the drug development, medicinal value, and application of R. cordifolia in the future.

Quality of life after totally laparoscopic proximal gastrectomy with double-tract reconstruction versus totally laparoscopic total gastrectomy: Retrospective cohort study

“…This may be related to surgical anastomotic scar contracture, decreased elasticity, and weak dilatation, resulting in the patient's inability to digest food in a timely manner after eating. Compared with esophagogastrostomy, double-tract reconstruction could better prevent re ux esophagitis and improve QOL without scarifying perioperative safety or 3-year OS [ [30], [31], [32]]. In our study, 32% of patients in the TLPG-DT group had dysphagia in the short-term outcome, which became 13% in the long-term follow-up.…”

The Underling Mechanisms Exploration of Rubia cordifolia L. Extract Against Rheumatoid Arthritis by Integrating Network Pharmacology and Metabolomics

“…Thus, indepth investigations should be carried out to determine the specific effects and mechanisms of the key targets and active compounds. Meanwhile, 6-hydroxyrubiadin, alizarin, ruberythric acid, and munjistin belongs to anthraquinone, the anthraquinone derivatives have a wide range of physiological activities, including anti-inflammatory, 15 antibacterial, 72 antiarthritic. 73 However, the toxicity of anthraquinone derivatives cannot be ignored, several studies had reported that long term use of anthraquinone drugs may lead to diarrhea, colonic melanosis, colonic mucosal melanosis, 74 and even hepatitis.…”

“… 14 Rubia cordifolia L. (Rubiaceae, RC) is a sprawling plant, which prefer pleasantly cool and humidity environment and is distributed throughout Greece, Sudan, South-Africa, and Asia. 15 The aqueous leaf extract of RC showed antitumor, DNA-binding, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. 16 While the dry rhizome of RC is recorded in the 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia and are widely used as traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of tuberculosis, contusions, menoxenia, and rheumatism in China, Japan, Korea, and India.…”

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“…In this study, the therapeutic potential of the selected bigel was evaluated and compared to that of a commercial semisolid formulation and to a negative control. The selection of the reference product was based on its herbal content and the expected therapeutic outcome: the plants contained therein have been traditionally used for their wound-healing effect [55][56][57][58].…”