REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1589035
This article is part of the Research TopicEvaluating Toxicological Risks of Traditional Medicines in Modern HealthcareView all 8 articles
Yunnan Baiyao (YNBY): Pharmacological Mechanisms, Therapeutic Applications, and Clinical Evidence
Provisionally accepted
- Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
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Yunnan Baiyao (YNBY) is a widely used traditional Chinese medicine with diverse pharmacological properties. This review synthesizes evidence from the past two decades on its hemostatic, anti-inflammatory, antibacterial, analgesic, and anticancer effects, along with its clinical applications and safety profile. We systematically analyzed clinical trials, animal studies, and mechanistic investigations to evaluate YNBY’s efficacy in reducing surgical blood loss (e.g., in orthognathic surgery, −21.4% vs. placebo), accelerating wound healing (e.g., diabetic ulcers, +37% closure rate), modulating inflammation (e.g., suppressing IL-6/CRP in arthritis), and inhibiting bacterial virulence (e.g., Staphylococcus aureus biofilm disruption). Mechanistic studies suggest that YNBY acts through multiple pathways, including platelet activation, arachidonic acid metabolism, and autophagy regulation. Despite promising applications, limitations such as inconsistent trial designs and unclear long-term safety warrant further research. This review provides a foundation for optimizing YNBY’s therapeutic use while highlighting gaps for future investigation.
Keywords: Yunnan Baiyao, Botanical drug, clinical application, Hemostatic efficacy, Traditional Chinese Medicine
Received: 06 Mar 2025; Accepted: 20 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Qian, Ren, Zhang, Zhang, Ma, Zhen and He. This is an open-access article distributed under the terms of the Creative Commons Attribution License (CC BY). The use, distribution or reproduction in other forums is permitted, provided the original author(s) or licensor are credited and that the original publication in this journal is cited, in accordance with accepted academic practice. No use, distribution or reproduction is permitted which does not comply with these terms.
* Correspondence:
Xiaobin Ren, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
Hongbing He, Affiliated Stomatology Hospital of Kunming Medical University, Kunming, China
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