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The pharmacology
and clinical properties of Kalopanax pictus
Tae Kyung Hyun1 and Ju-Sung
Kim2*
1Institut fuer Pflanzenwissenschaften, Schubertstr. 51,
A-8010 Graz, Austria.
2Oriental Bio-herb Research Institute, Kangwon National
University, Chuncheon, 200-701, Korea.
*Corresponding author. E-mail:
aha2002@kangwon.ac.kr.
Tel:
+82 33 250 7289,
Fax: +82 33 250 6410.
Accepted 17 August, 2009 |
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Kalopanax
pictus
is known as Castor-Aralia or Prickly Castor-oil tree.
K. pictus extracts have been used for dietary health supplements
and are an important area in drug development with numerous
pharmacological functions in East Asia; however, their pharmacological
functions have not been introduced in Western countries. This paper
briefly reviews the most relevant experimental data on the
pharmacological actions of K. pictus to overcome the lack of
information on this plant. K. pictus extracts have proved to be
effective in the treatment of inflammation and were shown to have a
number of pharmaceutically relevant benefits that include anti-rheumatoidal,
hepatoprotective, anti-diabetic, anti-cancer
effects, etc. There are a few known active pharmacological components
such as
kalopanaxsaponin A and I.
Although the molecular mechanisms of most of the effects are not fully
understood, major mechanisms seem to involve the
interplay
between
active
components
and signaling mediated by phosphorylation events during stress
adaptation.
Key
words:
Kalopanax pictus,
Araliaceae,
Kalopanaxsaponins A,
anti-inflammatory, anti-rheumatoidal activity, anti-diabetic,
hepatoprotective effect. |
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