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REVIEW article

Front. Pharmacol.

Sec. Ethnopharmacology

Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1581505

This article is part of the Research Topic Reviews in Ethnopharmacology: 2025 View all 10 articles

Aster tataricus L. f.: A review on the botany, phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology, pharmacology, toxicology and comprehensive utilization

Provisionally accepted
  • Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China

The final, formatted version of the article will be published soon.

    Aster tataricus L.f., a perennial herb of the genus Aster in the Asteraceae(Compositae) family. It is associated with a spicy, bitter, and warm nature and belongs to the Lung Meridian. The medicinal parts of A.tataricus are flowers, leaves, roots, and rhizomes. A.tataricus was first recorded in Shuo Wen under the alias "Zi Wan" (茈菀). Traditionally, it is utilised to clear lung qi, promote fluid flow, calm adverse-rising energy, relieve cough, resolve sputum, and regulate secretions. However, it is worth noting that A.tataricus has certain hepatotoxicity. Modern pharmacology indicates that A.tataricus can be used to treat various diseases, including those of the respiratory and urinary systems. In this review, all available information on A.tataricus was collected via academic databases such as PubMed, SciFinder Scholar, CNKI, iPlant, Google Scholar, Web of Science, GBIF, and Masterpieces of Traditional Chinese Medicine. To date, more than 200 metabolites have been isolated and characterized from A.tataricus, including terpenoids, flavonoids, polypeptides, and others. These compounds demonstrate a wide range of pharmacological activities, such as anti-inflammatory effects, antitussive and bronchodilatory properties, anticancer activity, antioxidant effects, treatment of osteolytic disorders, management of urinary system diseases, alleviation of acute lung injury, and enhancement of memory. Meanwhile, the different polarity extracts of A.tataricus also exhibit some toxicological characteristics, the astin has a similar structure to that of cyclochloridine, the hepatotoxic metabolite of penicillin; its saponins also have hemolytic effects. However, there are currently few studies on the toxicology of A.tataricus. Further in-depth research is needed to explore the potential mechanisms underlying the toxicity of A.tataricus. The toxicity of A.tataricus can be reduced through compatibility and processing, but this aspect has received little discussion and further research on quality standardization is needed. To ensure the sustainable development of A.tataricus, we have also summarized its artificial cultivation techniques. Therefore, this article focuses on botany, artificial cultivation, phytochemistry, ethnopharmacology, pharmacology, toxicology, and comprehensive utilization of A.tataricus. Discuss the future research prospects and existing problems of A.tataricus, and provide references for further research on A.tataricus and the establishment of quality control standards.

    Keywords: Aster tataricus L.f., phytochemistry, Ethnopharmacology, Pharmacological activity, Toxicology, Comprehensive utilization

    Received: 22 Feb 2025; Accepted: 26 Mar 2025.

    Copyright: © 2025 Zhang, Liu, Zhang, Ma, Song, Pan, Huang, Ren and Ma. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.

    * Correspondence:
    Xinyi Zhang, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
    Wei Ma, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China

    Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.

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