Benincasae Exocarpium (BE, Dongguapi in Chinese), as the dried outer pericarp of Benincasa hispida (wax gourd) in Cucurbitaceae family, is one of traditional Chinese medicines with the same origin as medicine and food. Up to now, 43 compounds were isolated from BE, including flavonoids, alkaloids, tannins, phenolic acids, soluble fiber and carbohydrates. Modern pharmacological studies and clinical practice showed that BE has diuretic, hypolipidemic effects, hypoglycemic, antioxidant, antibacterial, and other effects. The folk uses, functional factors, pharmacological activities, patents and clinical applications of BE were reviewed in this paper. In addition, the paper also discussed the current problems for the further studies. The information summarized in this paper provides valuable clues for the comprehensive utilization of medicine and food resources and gives a scientific basis for the development of medicinal plants of BE.
关键词:
冬瓜;药食同源;现代药理学;功能性成分
Keywords:
Project Supported:
The work was supported by the National Natural Science Foundation of China (No. 81673693) and Tianjin Intelligent Manufacturing Special Project of China (No. 20201178) for financial support.
Meng Zhang a, b,, Jialong Lei a, b,, Yansheng Wang a, b, Jingze Zhang a, b,*, Dailin Liu a, b,*. Ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and pharmacology of Benincasae Exocarpium: A review[J]. Chinese Herbal Medicines (CHM),2023,15(1):15-26
