Toxic Mechanism， Risk Evaluation， and Regulatory Policies of Pyrrolizidine Alkaloids from Senecionis Scandentis Herba： A Review
10.13422/j.cnki.syfjx.20260308
- VernacularTitle:千里光中吡咯里西啶生物碱的毒性机制、风险评价及监管策略研究进展
- Author:
Weili CHEN
1
;
Shengxuan LI
2
;
Linying QIN
2
;
Xiangle MENG
3
;
Yu DONG
4
;
Long CHENG
2
Author Information
1. First Teaching Hospital of Tianjin University of Traditional Chinese Medicine， Tianjin 301617，China
2. School of Pharmacy， Zunyi Medical University， Zunyi 563000，China
3. The First Affiliated Hospital of Henan University of Chinese Medicine， Zhengzhou 450046，China
4. Guang'anmen Hospital， China Academy of Chinese Medical Sciences， Beijing 100053，China
- Publication Type:Journal Article
- Keywords:
Senecionis Scandentis Herba;
pyrrolizidine alkaloids （PAs）;
toxic mechanism;
liver injury
- From:
Chinese Journal of Experimental Traditional Medical Formulae
2026;32(21):330-338
- CountryChina
- Language:Chinese
-
Abstract:
ObjectiveTo summarize the research results on the toxic mechanism and the relevant regulatory policies at home and abroad of pyrrolizidine alkaloids （PAs）， the main toxic components， in Senecionis Scandentis Herba， thereby providing insights into the clinical use and scientific regulation of Senecionis Scandentis Herba. MethodsMultiple Chinese and English databases including PubMed， ScienceDirect， Elsevier， China national knowledge infrastructure （CNKI）， Wanfang Data， and VIP were searched， with "Senecio，" "PSenecio scandens，" and "pyrrolizidine alkaloids" as search terms. The relevant articles published from 1959 to 2025 were retrieved and analyzed， and 79 articles were finally selected for review. ResultsThe chemical components of Senecionis Scandentis Herba include alkaloids， flavonoids， volatile oils， sesquiterpenes， jacaranone derivatives， and organic acids， among which alkaloids are the most toxic components， followed by jacaranone derivatives. PAs are metabolized into highly active pyrrole derivatives in the liver， which can cause serious adverse reactions such as sinusoidal obstruction syndrome and DNA damage. The content of PAs varies significantly due to the origin， harvest period， and medicinal parts. There have been reports of clinical liver injury caused by preparations containing Senecionis Scandentis Herba， and some preparations have a daily intake of PAs exceeding the international safety threshold. Currently， international organizations have set limited standards for PAs， while China only controls the content of adonifoline， and the supervision is not yet perfect. ConclusionAlthough Senecionis Scandentis Herba has medicinal value， its PAs have significant toxicological properties. This is a problem that cannot be ignored and needs to be overcome in the use of Senecionis Scandentis Herba. Therefore， it is necessary to strengthen the quality control of raw materials， establish a more comprehensive limited standard for PAs， and optimize the medication strategy in combination with traditional Chinese medicine theory to ensure the safety of clinical medication.
