Lonicerae Flos: A Review of Chemical Constituents and Biological Activities

Abstract

ABSTRACT: Lonicerae flos, a widely used traditional Chinese medicine (TCM), has been used for several thousand years in China. As a famous traditional Chinese herbal medicine, it was used as heat-clearing drug and alexipharmic agent and was widely cultivated in Hunan province. L. flos mainly contains biologically active compounds such as caffeic acid derivatives, essential oil, flavonoids, iridoid glycosides and terpenoids. A range of biological activities has been reported from plant extracts including anti-inflammatory, antitumor, antioxidant, antiallergy, immunomodulating and antibacterial activity. In this study, the author investigated ancient books of TCM and nowadays reports, summarized the chemical constituents, biological activity of L. flos to provide a comprehensive systematic review. Keywords: Caprifoliaceae, Lonicerae flos, Chemical constituents, Biological activity, Lonicera macranthoides, Lonicera cofusa