Research progress on Polygalae Radix / 中草药

Polygalae Radix used as Chinese materia medica has a long history. The main chemical constituents include triterpenoid saponins, xanthones, oligosaccharide esters, and so on. The study shows that Polygalae Radix has a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as sedative hypnotic, anticonvulsant, antiaging, antidementia, brain protection, cough expectorant, antidepressant, antibacterial, and anticancer. In this paper, through referring to the domestic and foreign relevant literatures on Polygalae Radix systematically, we summarize the chemical composition, pharmacological activity, and structure activity relationship of Polygalae Radix, which could provide the reference for the further investigation and development of this plant.