A comprehensive review on ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of Rhus chinensis Mill.

ETHNOPHARMACOLOGICAL RELEVANCE:Rhus chinensis Mill., firstly recorded as herbal medicine in Shan Hai Jing, have been used for thousands of years to treat various diseases. AIM OF THIS REVIEW:This review targets on the ethnomedicinal applications of R. chinensis and to gather the phytochemical, pharmacological and toxicological data which support the therapeutic potential of R. chinensis in treatment on different diseases, with emphasis on the naturally occurring compounds and detailed pharmacological developments. MATERIALS AND METHODS:The information of R. chinensis was collected based on a variety of popular databases such as Scifinder, PubMed, Web of Science, ScienceDirect, Springer, Wiley, ACS, CNKI, Baidu Scholar, Google Scholar and other published materials (books and Ph.D. and M. Sc. Dissertations). The keywords "Rhus chinensis", "Rhus amela", "Rhus javanica", "Rhus osbeckii", "Rhus semialata", and "Schinus indicus" were applied to search the literature related in this review. RESULTS:152 natural compounds of R. chinensis belong to different classes are presented in this review, including flavonoids, lignans, coumarins, simple phenolics, urushiols, tannins, triterpenoids, steroids and other types of constituents. Among them, flavonoids, lignans, and triterpenoids are most frequently reported components. The pharmacological effects of R. chinensis were numerous and complicated, including anti-viral, anti-bacterial, anti-diarrheal, hepatoprotective, anti-proliferation, enzyme-inhibiting, anti-oxidants and so on. CONCLUSION:In order to discover more compounds with novel structures to both enrich chemical context of genus Rhus and expand the variety of constituents, the phytochemical research is urgent and indispensable. Anti-diarrhea, the most widely application of R. chinensis traditionally, is insufficient in underlying mechanism exploration. And for other activities, in-depth studies on the mechanism of pharmacological effects in vivo and in vitro are both needed. Meanwhile, pharmacokinetics, toxicology, quality control and preclinical and clinical data are urgent to assess the rationale and safety of the medicinal and food application of R. chinensis.