CHINESE JOURNAL OF MEDICINAL GUIDE >
Research Progress on Traditional Uses， Pharmacology， Toxicity， and Quality Control of Pinellia Ternata
Received date: 2025-07-23
Revised date: 2025-10-09
Accepted date: 2026-03-18
Online published: 2026-04-21
Pinellia ternata is a perennial herbaceous plant that has been widely used in traditional Chinese， Japanese， and Korean medicine for a long time. Due to its diverse pharmacological activities such as antidiarrheal， lipid-lowering， anti-cancer， cough suppressant， phlegm resolving， and anti-gastric ulcer effects， it has attracted widespread research attention worldwide in recent years. Pinellia ternata is mainly produced in many parts of China and other regions in East Asia. Its decoction pieces and compound formulas （such as Pinellia ternata Xiexin Tang and Erchen Tang） are commonly used in clinical practice to treat cough， vomiting， gastric ulcers and other diseases. 212 compounds have been isolated and identified from Pinellia ternata， covering various types such as alkaloids， volatile oils， amino acids， organic acids， flavonoids， ceramides， and phenylpropanoids. In vitro and in vivo studies have shown that Pinellia ternata has significant anti-tumor， cough suppressing， anti asthma， enhanced gastric mucosal barrier function， and antidiarrheal effects. Its mechanism may be related to regulating inflammatory pathways and inducing tumor cell apoptosis. The extract of Pinellia ternata can cause irritant toxicity， cardiotoxicity， hepatotoxicity， and embryotoxicity， and the dosage should be strictly controlled in clinical practice. Research has confirmed that different processing methods （such as ginger and alum） and their compatibility with drugs such as licorice and ginger can significantly reduce toxicity and enhance therapeutic effects. Existing research has shown significant differences in the composition of Pinellia ternata slices from different origins， harvesting periods， and processing techniques. Establishing a quality evaluation system that combines multi-component quantitative analysis （such as high-performance liquid chromatography to determine indicators such as cucurbitacin and guanosine） with fingerprint spectra is of great significance. This review systematically summarizes the traditional medicinal value， modern pharmacological mechanism， toxicity characteristics， and quality control points of Pinellia ternata， in order to provide scientific basis for its rational clinical application and development. As a traditional Chinese medicine， Pinellia ternata's multi-target pharmacological activity provides abundant resources for modern drug development. In the future， it is necessary to conduct in-depth pharmacokinetic research and toxicity mechanism analysis， and develop refined quality standards for different clinical application scenarios to ensure their clinical efficacy and medication safety.
YU Wenlu, ZHANG Hong
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Research Progress on Traditional Uses， Pharmacology， Toxicity， and Quality Control of Pinellia Ternata
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