ABSTRACT
Ziziphi Spinosae Semen (ZSS) is the first choice for traditional Chinese medicine in the treatment of insomnia. The saponins are the main active ingredient of ZSS. At present, 51 kinds of saponin components have been obtained from ZSS, which are mainly classified into tetracyclic triterpenes and pentacyclic triterpenoid saponins according to the aglycon structure. With the deep research on the saponins from ZSS, it has been found that it has a wide range of pharmacological effects, such as calming, anti-anxiety, anti-depression, anti-tumor, and myocardial protection. In view of the increasingly serious harm to human health caused by nervous system diseases and the important role of ZSS in the prevention and treatment of nervous system diseases, this study focused on systematically summarizing the structural types of ZSS saponins and the pharmacological effects in the nervous system to provide a scientific reference for the development and utilization of ZSS saponins.
ABSTRACT
Triterpenoid saponins is an important secondary metabolites in medicinal plants, and the tetracyclic triterpenoid saponins, as one of the main categories, have very high medicinal value and market demand. However, there is no systematic review on the research. Thus, the elucidation of the biosynthetic pathway and metabolism of the medicinal plant tetracyclic triterpenoid saponins has important theoretical significance and broad application prospects.In this review, the biosynthetic pathway and metabolic regulation of medicinal plant of tetracyclic triterpenoid saponins were discussed. My focus in this paper was to introduce the research development of several metabolic biosynthetic pathways of tetracyclic triterpenoid saponins centered on dammarane type, and the gene improvement by methods such as metabolic pathway and other technological methods. This study provides references on secondary metabolic framework of medicinal plants of tetracyclic triterpenoid saponins, accurately locating secondary metabolism and its key enzymes, and promoting the sustainable uses of medicinal plant resources.