Journal of ethnopharmacology
-
Botany, traditional uses, phytochemistry, pharmacology and toxicology of Ilex pubescens Hook et Arn.
Ilex pubescens (I. pubescens), which is well known in Chinese as Mao-Dong-Qing, is widely used in traditional Chinese medicine. This plant is distributed in the wild in southern China, and the roots and stems are used for clearing heat, detoxifying, activating blood circulation and dispelling stasis. Moreover, it is used for treating wind-heat cold, lung-heat asthma, swelling and pain of pharynxes and gingivae, thoracic obstruction and cardiodynia with pungent, stroke, hemiplegia, thromboangiitis obliterans, burn, scald and central retinitis. ⋯ This review summarizes the results from current studies of I. pubescens, which is one of the valuable medicinal sources from traditional herbs. Some conventional uses have been evaluated by pharmacological investigation. In addition, unresolved issues include molecular mechanisms underlying bioactivities, pharmacokinetics, toxicology and efficacy, which are still being studied and explored before achieving integration into clinical medicines.