ABSTRACT
Cortex Periplocae Radicis (CPR) is the dried root barks of Periploca spium Bge. It has been used in China for treating rheumatoid arthritis and strengthening the bone and the musculature for thousands of years. Recently, an increasing number of bioactivities of CPR have been recognized, including tumor suppression and anti-chronic heart failure function. However, long-term use or large doses of CPR may produce adverse reactions, which constrains its applications in clinical therapy. Therefore, it is critical to know the chemical components of CPR in order to understand the toxicity mechanism. Nearly a hundred chemical compositions have been found, however, various classes, obfuscated names of different compounds, and disaccord between chemical structure and name were major obstacles to studying pharmacodynamics and toxicity of CPR. In this paper, 94 chemical components of CPR are classified and reviewed, which is valuable for the comprehensive understanding of its biological functions and safe clinical use.