Aristolochia pharmacology

The family Aristolochiaceae is a family of herbaceous plants often used in Asia and the Pacific to counteract snake poisoning, promote urination and menses, mitigate stomachache, and treat dropsy and skin diseases. During the past 20 years, members of this family, especially from the genus Aristolochia have attracted much interest and has been the subject of numerous chemical and pharmacological studies. The anti-inflammatory property of Aristolochia species is probably the result of a direct... 

The genus Aristolochia comprises approximately 200 species, many of which have played important roles in folk medicine for treating sore throat, venomous snakebites, wounds, fevers, and tuberculosis. The chemistry and pharmacology of aristolochic acid, the main active principle, was researched by many scientists. Many worthy achievements in the pharmacology of aristolochic acid have been published. 

To provide scientific support for the wide use of Aristolochia species in folk/traditional medicines, number of scientific groups world wide studied the pharmacological properties of both crude extracts and constituents of Aristolochia species. Many worthy achievements in the pharmacology of Aristolochia have been published. The aristolochic acids have been considered to be the most potent fraction of the Aristolochia constituents. Aristolochic acid I, the most active constituent of Aristolochia has been used for medicinal purposes since the Graeco-Roman period [412], The pharmacopeia of the People s Republic of China indicated that aristolo- chic acid can be used to relieve pain by subdueing hyperactivity of the liver, counteract toxicity, and cause subsidence of... 

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