Puerarin, also known as pueraria flavonoids, is a kind of flavonoid glycoside
extracted from the roots of Pueraria alba or Pueraria thomsonii and is also one of
the main effective ingredients of Pueraria lobata. That Pueraria lobate was used to
treat diseases has already been recorded in China’s ancient medical books such as
Shen Nong’s Materia Medica, Treatise on Miscellaneous Diseases and Medical
Dictionary.
Kanzu root is widely distributed in our country and of rich resources. It
has been reported that puerarin could be extracted from Pueraria lobata (Wild.)
Ohwi, Radix Pueraria thomsonii, Pueraria omeiensiswanget Tang, Pueraria edulis
Pamp and Pueraria phaseoloides, but the content of puerarin differs.
Pueraria has a great value for nutrition and medicine and was considered the
south ginseng of China. Puerarin has been widespread concerned over our country
for its use of food and medicine in recent years.
Appearance: White to light-yellow crystalline powder. Solubility: Soluble in methanol, freely soluble in ethanol, slightly soluble in water, insoluble in chloroform and
ether. Melting point: 187–189?°C.
In 1959, Japanese chemist Shibata Shoji first studied the chemical production of
pueraria root, indicating that isoflavones are the main active ingredients of pueraria
root, including puerarin, daidzin and daidzein . Then in 2003, David Lee first
total synthesized analogical puerarin . And it was in 1974 that puerarin was first
extracted by Fang Qicheng and other chemists in China . Due to its strong activity of anti-cardiovascular and anti-cerebrovascular ischemia and hypoxia, expanding the coronary artery and cerebrovascular, reducing myocardial oxygen
consumption, and improving myocardial systolic and microcirculation function,
puerarin was approved for clinical use by the Ministry of Health in 1993.
In recent years,
researchers have synthesized a series of puerarin derivatives, and active research
showed that the part of the puerarin derivatives has a good biological activity and
bioavailability. In a new dosage form
research, researchers have developed several types of dosage forms such as quickrelease solid dispersions, solid from microemulsion preparation, etc., which greatly
increase the solubility of puerarin, thus improving bioavailability. In recent years,the research on crystal drug has opened up new ways for the application of
puerarin.
Puerarin is a natural isoflavone isolated from plants of the genus Pueraria used in traditional Chinese herbal medicine. It is biotransformed by intestinal bacteria to give the phytoestrogens daidzein and equol , resulting in antithrombotic, antiallergic, and other salutary effects. When given intraperitoneally, puerarin evokes diverse responses by modulating serotonin receptors. This compound also suppresses lipopolysaccharide-mediated activation of NF-κB in RAW 264.6 macrophages when given at 20-40 μM.
Puerarin is a naturally occuring isoflavonoid derived from Chinese medical herb kudzu root and has been used for the treatment of various cardiovascular diseases. Recent sutdies have shown the potenti
al of puerarin treatment as a novel approach to lowering the risk of or improving function in ischemia-reperfusion brain injury-related disorders.
ChEBI: A hydroxyisoflavone that is isoflavone substituted by hydroxy groups at positions 7 and 4' and a beta-D-glucopyranosyl residue at position 8 via a C-glycosidic linkage.
At present the most widely used medicinal formulation of puerarin in clinical application is puerarin injection, with more than 90 enterprises producing it. The injection was mainly used for the treatment of coronary heart disease, angina pectoris,
myocardial infarction, retinal movement, vein occlusion, sudden deafness and other
diseases. Another dosage form of puerarin is eye drops for the treatment of primary
open-angle glaucoma, ocular hypertension, primary angle closure glaucoma and
secondary glaucoma. In addition, there are puerarin tablets and puerarin capsules,
belonging to the health-care product.
Isoflavone component of kudzu. Reduces anxiety symptoms associated with alcohol withdrawal.
Contemporary pharmacological research has demonstrated that puerarin has wide
pharmacological activities on the cardiovascular system, nervous system, liver
impairments, osteoporosis and hangover .
The clinical and experimental researches have shown that puerarin has a significant role in the prevention of cerebral vascular disease, which can expand the
coronary artery and improve the metabolism of an ischemic heart muscle, improving brain circulation, increasing cerebral blood flow and reducing blood volume and
heart rate. There is good control of puerarin on myocardial ischemia and cerebral
ischemic disease.
A large number of experiments have proved that puerarin can promote the glucose and lipid metabolism and reduce blood sugar and blood lipid. The protection
of puerarin on diabetes was attributed to its functions on inhibiting apoptosis and
oxidative stress.
Puerarin have protection efficacy on liver damage induced by chemical substances, alcohol, surgery and other experimental damage. This effect is closely
related to the antioxidant effect, resisting lipid peroxidation, inhibiting platelet
aggregation and improving circulation.
Puerarin can also improve the eye microcirculation obviously and reduce the
pressure of the eyes, thus acting obvious therapeutic effect on glaucoma. In addition, it has a variety of preparations, such as liquors, which are still under
development.
Currently, puerarin is used clinically for the treatment of hypertension, coronary
heart disease, angina pectoris, arrhythmia, myocardial infarction, ischemic cerebrovascular disease, retinal arteriovenous obstruction, sudden deafness, diabetes complications, dizziness and other diseases. Besides, it also is used to treat chronic
pharyngitis, cerebral infarction and Parkinson’s syndrome.
However, puerarin also has adverse reactions in clinical therapy. Fever is the
main symptom. In addition, allergic dermatitis, anaphylactic shock, laryngeal
oedema, increased transaminase, gastrointestinal bleeding, haemolysis phenomenon and kidney damage occurred occasionally, and these symptoms disappeared
after withdrawal of the medication.
