Minghui Zhao¹ , Keyan Fang²

1 Tropical Medicinal Plant Research Center, Hainan Institute of Tropical Agricultural Resources, Sanya, 572025, Hainan, China
2 Traditional Chinese Medicine Research Center, Cuixi Academy of Biotechnology, Zhuji, 311800, Zhejiang, China
Author    Correspondence author
Medicinal Plant Research, 2025, Vol. 15, No. 4   doi: 10.5376/mpr.2025.15.0019
Received: 10 Jun., 2025    Accepted: 15 Jul., 2025    Published: 08 Aug., 2025

This is an open access article published under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License, which permits unrestricted use, distribution, and reproduction in any medium, provided the original work is properly cited.

Zhao M.H., and Fang K.Y., 2025, Research insight into molecular mechanisms of Angelica sinensis polysaccharides in anti-inflammatory activity, Medicinal Plant Research, 15(4): 178-187 (doi: 10.5376/mpr.2025.15.0019)

 

Angelica sinensis, is a widely used medicinal material in traditional Chinese medicine. The polysaccharide components (ASPs) in it are regarded as the main active substances, which have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects. This study sorted out the chemical composition and structural characteristics of ASPs, and analyzed their regulatory roles in signaling pathways, like NF-κB, MAPK, JAK/STAT and Nrf2/HO-1. Studies have shown that, ASPs can inhibit pro-inflammatory factors, enhance antioxidant defense, and promote the functions of macrophages, natural killer cells and T/B lymphocytes, thereby maintaining the balance between inflammation and immunity. Preclinical studies generally suggest that, it has high safety and good efficacy, but the evidence from clinical trials is still insufficient, especially in terms of dose standardization and long-term application verification. This study provides a theoretical basis for the application of ASPs, in the development of anti-inflammatory drugs and functional foods, and also offers a reference for its future clinical transformation.

A. sinensis polysaccharides (ASPs); Anti-inflammatory mechanism; Immune regulation; Signal pathway; Structure-activity relationship; Functional food