Eucommia ulmoides Oliv.: ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology of an important traditional Chinese medicine

Abstract

Ethnopharmacological relevance: Eucommia ulmoides Oliv. (Family Eucommiaceae), also known as Dù-zhòng (Chinese: ), Tuchong (in Japanese), is the sole species of the genus Eucommia. The leaf, stem, and bark as well as staminate flower of Eucommia ulmoides have been traditionally used to cure many diseases in China, Japan, Korea, among others. The aim of this review is to comprehensively outline the botanical description, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, biological activities, and toxicology of Eucommia ulmoides and to discuss possible trends for further study of Eucommia ulmoides.

Materials and methods: Information on Eucommia ulmoides was gathered via the internet (using Pub Med, Elsevier, Baidu Scholar, Google Scholar, Medline Plus, ACS, CNKI, and Web of Science) and from books in local libraries.

Results: One-hundred twelve compounds of Eucommia ulmoides, including the main active constituents, lignans and iridoids, have been isolated and identified. In vitro and in vivo studies indicated that monomer compounds and extracts from Eucommia ulmoides possess wide-ranging pharmacological actions, especially in treating hypertension, hyperlipemia, diabetes, obesity, sexual dysfunction, osteoporosis, Alzheimer's disease, aging, lupus-like syndrome, and immunoregulation.

Conclusions: Eucommia ulmoides has been used as a source of traditional medicine and as a beneficial health food. Phytochemical and pharmacological studies of Eucommia ulmoides have received much interest, and extracts and active compounds continue to be isolated and proven to exert various effects. Further toxicity and clinical studies are warranted to establish more detailed data on crude extracts and pure compounds, enabling more convenient preparations for patients. Therefore, this review on the ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, biological activities, and toxicity of Eucommia ulmoides will provide helpful data for further studies as well as the commercial exploitation of this traditional medicine.

Keywords: 1, 1-diphenyl-2-picrylhydrazyl; 50% inhibition concentration; AChE; AD; AIDS; AST; Alzheimer's disease; Ang II; Anti-hypertensive activity; BAT-SNA; Brown adipose tissue sympathetic nerve activity; CJ-S (131); CNKI; COX-2; Campylobacter jejuni enteritis 131; China National Knowledge Infrastructure; DPPH; EC50; EDTA; ELE; ELISA; Ethnopharmacology; Eucommia ulmoides; FFA; GRd; GSH; GST; GVNA; HDL; HIV; HL-60; HMG-CoA; Hypolipidemic activity; IC50; ID; IL; LDL; LPS; Lignans; MMC; MeOH; NO; OVX; PAGE; PDE; ROS; SD; SHRs; SOD; STZ; Sprague-Dawley; TAG; TCM; TFAs; THP-1 cells; TNF-α; Tk gene; UPLC; UPLC-ESI-MS; WAT-SNA; acetylcholinesterase; acquired immunodeficiency syndrome; angiotensin II; aspartate transaminase; cAMP; concentration for 50% of maximal effect; cyclic adenosine monophosphate; cyclooxygenase-2; enzyme-linked immunosorbent assay; ethylenediaminetetraacetic acid; extracts of leaves from Eucommia ulmoides Oliv.; free fatty acids; gastric vagal nerve activity; glucocorticoid receptor; glutathione; glutathione S-transferase; high density lipoprotein; human acute monocytic leukemia cell line; human immunodeficiency virus infection; human promyelocytic leukemia cells; hydroxy methylglutaryl coenzyme A; interleukin; intraduodenal; lipopolysaccharide; low density lipoprotein; methyl alcohol; mitomycin C; nNOS; neuronal nitric oxide synthase; nitric oxide; ovariectomy; phosphodiesterase; polyacrylamide gel electrophoresis; reactive oxygen species; spontaneously hypertensive rats; streptozotocin; superoxide dismutase; thymidine kinase gene; total fatty acids; traditional Chinese Medicine; tumor necrosis factor-α; tumor-associated glycoprotein; ultra performance liquid chromatography; ultra performance liquid chromatography with electrospray ionization-tandem mass spectrometry; white adipose tissue sympathetic nerve activity.