Table1_The potential of Valeriana as a traditional Chinese medicine: traditional clinical applications, bioactivities, and phytochemistry.DOCX

Valeriana plants are members of the Caprifoliaceae family, which include more than 200 species worldwide. We summarized previous reports on traditional clinical applications, bioactivities, and phytochemistry of Valeriana by searching electronic databases of Science Direct, Web of Science, PubMed, and some books. Some Valeriana species have been used as traditional medicines, demonstrating calming fright and tranquilizing mind, promoting Qi and blood, activating blood circulation and regulating menstruation, dispelling wind and eliminating dampness, regulating Qi-flowing to relieve pain, and promoting digestion and checking diarrhea, and treating diseases of the nervous, cardiovascular, and digestive systems, inflammation, gynecology, and others. Pharmacology studies revealed the effects of Valeriana, including sedative, hypnotic, antispasmodic, analgesic, antidepressant, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, antiepileptic, neuroprotective, antibacterial, antiviral, cytotoxic, and antitumor effects as well as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system improvements. More than 800 compounds have been isolated or identified from Valeriana, including iridoids, lignans, flavonoids, sesquiterpenoids, alkaloids, and essential oils. Constituents with neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and sedative activities were also identified. However, at present, the developed drugs from Valeriana are far from sufficient. We further discussed the pharmacological effects, effective constituents, and mechanisms directly related to the traditional clinical applications of Valeriana, revealing that only several species and their essential oils were well developed to treat insomnia. To effectively promote the utilization of resources, more Valeriana species as well as their different medicinal parts should be the focus of future related studies. Clinical studies should be performed based on the traditional efficacies of Valeriana to facilitate their use in treating diseases of nervous, cardiovascular, and digestive systems, inflammation, and gynecology. Future studies should also focus on developing effective fractions or active compounds of Valeriana into new drugs to treat diseases associated with neurodegeneration, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular, inflammation and tumors. Our review will promote the development and utilization of potential drugs in Valeriana and avoid wasting their medicinal resources.</p

Chemical composition and cytotoxicity of the essential oil from different parts of <i>Datura metel</i> L.

<p>The essential oil from different parts of <i>Datura metel</i> L. were extracted using hydrodistillation and GC–MS was used to analyse the essential oil. The main components of flowers were ketone (23.61%) and ethyl palmitate (15.84%). The main components of leaves were ketone (18.84%) and phytol (18.71%). Ketone (39.45%) and phytol (31.32%) were the major components of petioles. Palmitic acid (30.60%) and ethyl linoleate (21.56%) were the major components of seeds. The major ingredient of roots was palmitic acid (52.61%). The main ingredients of the stems were palmitic acid (38.38%) and ethyl linoleate (17.38%). All the different parts of essential oil were screened for cytotoxicity. The roots and stems showed the inhibitory effects against HepG-2 with IC₅₀ levels of 613.88 and 341.12 mg/L. The leaves and roots showed the inhibitory effects against HeLa with IC₅₀ levels of 267.76 and 348.35 mg/L. All the six parts have inhibitory effects against SGC-7901 cell lines.</p