Schisandra sphenanthera: A Comprehensive Review of its Botany, Phytochemistry, Pharmacology, and Clinical Applications

Abstract

Schisandra sphenanthera Rehd. et Wils (S. sphenanthera) is a single species of Schisandra genus, Magnoliaceae family, and it is a famous medicinal herb mostly growing in southern China, China Taiwan and Vietnam. S. sphenanthera is usually used for the treatments of hepatitis, Alzheimer’s disease, renal transplantation, osteoporosis, and insomnia. In present studies, approximately 310 natural constituents have been isolated from S. sphenanthera, including lignans, triterpenes, volatile oils, and polysaccharides, which were mainly obtained from the fruits and stems of S. sphenanthera. Pharmocological studies have shown that the extracts and monomeric compounds of S. sphenanthera possessed wide-range bioactivities, such as antitumor, anti-oxidant, anti-inflammatory, osteoblastic, immune regulation, neuroprotective, kidney protection, hepatoprotective, and antiviral activities. However, resource availability, quality control measures, in-depth in vivo pharmacological study, and clinical application are still insufficient and deserve further studies. This review systematically summarized literatures on the botany, phytochemistry, pharmacology, development utilization, and clinical application of S. sphenanthera, in hopes of provide a useful reference for researchers for further studies of this plant.

Interactions between natural products and cancer treatments: underlying mechanisms and clinical importance

“…Schisandra sphenanthera is a popular traditional Chinese medicine used for the management of hepatitis, Alzheimer’s disease, renal transplantation, osteoporosis and insomnia [ 56 ]. Meanwhile, other closely related species, Schisandra chinensis can be found in many Western countries [ 57 ].…”

“…The ethanolic extract of Schisandra sphenanthera is commercially available and known as Wuzhi tablet. Compounds (lignans) isolated from Schisandra sphenanthera have demonstrated anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory and anti-cancer properties [ 56 ]. Previous in vitro studies highlighted Schisandra lignans as substrates, inhibitors and inducers of CYP3A enzymes [ 57 ], although the predominant net clinical outcome following a chronic exposure to Schisandra sphenanthera extract appears to be CYP3A inhibition.…”

Investigating the Mechanism of Action of Schisandra chinensis Combined with Coenzyme Q10 in the Treatment of Heart Failure Based on PI3K-AKT Pathway

“…We conducted a literature review of China's National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) (https://www.cnki.net/) and Web of Science (https://www.webofscience.com/wos) and obtained 42 active compounds from S. chinensis. [21][22][23][24][25] (Table 1)…”

Application of metabolomics in the diagnosis of non-alcoholic fatty liver disease and the treatment of traditional Chinese medicine

“…Schisandra chinensis caulis polysaccharide (SCP) is the active ingredient in TCM schisandra chinensis, and studies have shown that it has anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, lipid-lowering and liver-protecting effects ( Huang et al, 2021 ). Feng et al (2021) used ultra-high-performance liquid chromatography-quadrupole/electrostatic field orbitrap high-resolution mass spectrometry (UHPLC-Q/Orbitrap-MS/MS) metabolomics method to analyze small molecule metabolites in NAFLD rat blood.…”