A Review on Phytochemical, Ethnomedical, and Pharmacological Studies on Genus Sophora, Fabaceae
October 2012
in “
Revista Brasileira de Farmacognosia
”
TLDR The genus Sophora has compounds with potential health benefits and could lead to new drugs, but more research is needed to understand their effects and safety.
The document from 2012 reviewed the genus Sophora, which is used in traditional Chinese medicine and contains over 300 compounds, including quinolizidine alkaloids and flavonoids. These compounds have demonstrated a wide range of pharmacological effects such as antioxidant, anticancer, anti-asthmatic, and anti-inflammatory properties, and are used to treat skin diseases and other conditions. The review emphasized the potential of these compounds to be developed into new drugs but also called for further research to fully understand their pharmacological and toxicity profiles. Notably, S. flavescens methanol-extract showed hair growth promoting effects, which is of particular interest for hair loss treatments. However, the review did not include clinical trials on humans, focusing instead on in vitro and animal studies.
