AUTHOR=Gong Guowei , Huang Jing , Yang Yang , Qi Baohui , Han Guangyi , Zheng Yuzhong , He Huan , Chan Kelvin , Tsim Karl WK , Dong Tina TX 

TITLE=Saussureae Involucratae Herba (Snow Lotus): Review of Chemical Compositions and Pharmacological Properties

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Pharmacology

VOLUME=10

YEAR=2020

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/pharmacology/articles/10.3389/fphar.2019.01549

DOI=10.3389/fphar.2019.01549

ISSN=1663-9812

ABSTRACT=<p>Saussureae Involucratae Herba is the dried ground part of <italic>Saussurea involucrata</italic> (Kar. et Kir.) Sch.-Bip, which is also named as “Snow lotus” and being used in traditional Uyghur and/or Chinese medicine. This rare herb can be found at 4,000 m elevation in western part of Tianshan Mountain, Xinjiang China. According to China Pharmacopoeia (2015), the major pharmaceutical values of “Snow lotus” (Xuě liánhuā in Chinese) are alleviating rheumatoid arthritis, accelerating blood circulation and mitigating other “cold” syndromes. Traditionally, the clinical application of “Snow lotus” includes the treatments in inflammation-associated disorder, blood circulation acceleration and heat and dampness elimination. Recent studies suggested that <italic>“</italic>Snow lotus” possessed therapeutic effects associating with anti-cancer, anti-oxidation, adipogenesis suppression and neuroprotection activities, which were proposed to be related with its bioactive constitutes, i.e. acacetin, hispidulin, and rutin. In the present review, we aim to summarize pharmacological effects and underlying cell signaling pathways of “Snow lotus” in treating various medical problems.</p>