A systematical review on ethnobotanical, phytochemical and pharmacological aspects of Dendrobium nobile Lindl.

Dendrobium nobile Lindl (DNL) is one of the main sources of traditional Chinese medicine, Shihu (Dendrobii caulis). In recent years, the strong antitumor activity of the extract from DNL makes it a hot research object. This paper systematically summarizes the researches of DNL from 1935 to 2022, including the botanical characteristics, herbal textual research, chemical composition, pharmacological activity and toxicology of DNL, in order to provide inspiration for the later research, further development, as well as reasonable application of DNL. The stems of DNL contains alkaloids, polysaccharides, sesquiterpenes, Phenanthrenes, benzenes and other chemical components. Among them, alkaloids and polysaccharides have been regarded as the main active constitutents, with dendrobine (1) the characteristic components. So far, as many as 213 compounds have been isolated from DNL, and 101 compounds have been identified from the flowers of DNL via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry (GC-MS). It has been found that the extract of DNL exhibit various pharmacological activities, such as anti-tumor, blood sugar reduction, nerve protection, immuneenhancement, anti-inflammation, and anti-aging. Most of the pharmacological researches are on the total polysaccharides and total alkaloids of DNL. Besides being used as a medicinal material, DNL also often appears in daily diet and health care. However, the toxicity of DNL was reported in some literatures. Therefore, more in-depth toxicological research is needed to ensure the safety of DNL in medicine and food consumption.