Review looks at the chemical composition and pharmacological properties of Pseudostellaria heterophylla

Researchers at the University of Macau reviewed the chemical and pharmacological properties of Pseudostellaria heterophylla in order to understand its active compounds. The review was published in the journal Chinese Medicine.

• P. heterophylla, commonly known as false starwort, is a well-known traditional Chinese medicine that has been used in China for 100 years.
• Today, despite certain limitations, P. heterophylla is cultivated on a large scale in China to meet market demands.
• However, studies have found significant differences between wild and cultivated P. heterophylla in terms of quality.
• The researchers decided to conduct this review because they believe it is necessary to understand the chemical components and pharmacological activities of P. heterophylla before establishing an effective quality control method that ensures the safety and efficacy of cultivated products.
• For their study, they focused their analysis mainly on three aspects: The first two were related to current methodologies used to analyze cyclic peptides and carbohydrates in P. heterophylla, respectively, while the last one involved other methods used for the characterization of P. heterophylla.
• The researchers reported that P. heterophylla is rich in oligosaccharides, but these plant nutrients are rarely evaluated in studies.
• While P. heterophylla has been analyzed a number of times, only a few of the analytical methods used are accepted as quality control methods.

The researchers believe that further investigations on the oligosaccharides present at high concentrations in P. heterophylla aqueous extracts can lead to the development of rational and scientific quality control methods for this herb.

Read the full study at this link.

Journal Reference:

Hu DJ, Shakerian F, Zhao J, Li SP. CHEMISTRY, PHARMACOLOGY AND ANALYSIS OF PSEUDOSTELLARIA HETEROPHYLLA: A MINI-REVIEW. Chinese Medicine. 23 May 2019;14(1). DOI: 10.1186/s13020-019-0243-z