Polygonatum is a famous traditional Chinese medicine that is widely used in China, Korea and Japan. In the last decade, constituents of the genus have been reported including steroidal saponins, flavones, alkaloids, lignins, amino acids and carbohydrates, some of which show biological properties such as antiviral and antitumor activity, variable effects on the immune system and anticoagulant activity. In addition, some findings provide novel evidence that Polygonatum species may contain potential anti-tumor and anti-viral proteins for possible medical application and large-scale pharmaceutical production. In this review, we focus on the updated research of the chemical constituents of Polygonatum including polysaccharides, steroidal saponins, flavonoids and lectins, and their potential therapeutic roles.
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