Euphorbia helioscopia L.: A phytochemical and pharmacological overview

Euphorbia helioscopia L. which is called Zeqi in China, is a medicinal plant extensively distributed worldwide, especially in China, and has been widely used for decades to treat various diseases including edema, phlegm and cough, malaria, dysentery, scab, tuberculous fistula, osteomyelitis, and cancer. The present review aims to provide up-to-date information on E. helioscopia, including its traditional uses, phytochemistry, quality control, pharmacological research, toxicology, and human studies in exploring future scientific and therapeutic potentials in disease treatment. So far, a total of 173 terpenoids, as well as polyphenols, steroids, lipids, and volatile oils have been isolated and identified from E. helioscopia. Among them, diterpenoids and flavonoids are the most important and abundant bioactive constituents. Modern pharmacological studies have demonstrated that E. helioscopia has outstanding bioactivities especially on antipmliferative and multidrug resistance modulating. Nevertheless, most of these studies were carried out in vitro. The quality control, metabolites identification, indepth in-vivo studies as well as toxicology and human studies for the crude extracts and active components are still very limited. Consequently, more well-designed pre-clinical and clinical studies are required to justify their reported therapeutic potential.

Automated summary

Euphorbia helioscopia, known as Zeqi in China, is a widely distributed medicinal plant with a long history of traditional use. Modern pharmacological studies have shown its outstanding bioactivities, particularly in antiproliferative and multidrug resistance modulation, although more research is needed to fully explore its therapeutic potential.