REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1609299
This article is part of the Research TopicReviews in Ethnopharmacology: 2025View all 29 articles
Carthamus tinctorius L. : a comprehensive review of its ethnomedicine, phytochemistry, pharmacology and clinical applications
Provisionally accepted
- Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
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Background: Carthamus tinctorius L. has a long history of ethnomedicinal use for various ailments. This review focuses on the botany, ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacological effects, and clinical applications of safflower, aiming to enhance current research in this field.: The study incorporated relevant scientific literature up to April 2025. It involved the collection of both Chinese and English studies on safflower from various databases, including PubMed, Elsevier, Web of Science, Springer, Science Direct, Wiley, ACS, and CNKI (Chinese). Additionally, doctoral and master's dissertations were included in the analysis. Results: From 1978 to April 2025, various active metabolites have been identified, primarily comprising flavonoids, polyacetylenes, and alkaloids, with flavonoids being the predominant group. Extracts and metabolites derived from safflower have demonstrated a range of bioactivities, including antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antiinflammatory, and anticancer effects. In clinical practice, the effective components of safflower have been utilized in the treatment of cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases, diabetes, hepatobiliary disorders, poor blood circulation, sudden deafness, and other ailments. Conclusion: This review elucidates the research surrounding safflower in the domains of ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry, pharmacological activity, and clinical applications. Safflower is known to contain a diverse array of compounds, with flavonoids in particular demonstrating significant pharmacological activity.These compounds are extensively utilized in the pharmaceutical, food, and cosmetic industries, positioning safflower as a promising candidate for the development and application in the treatment of various diseases. Nonetheless, research on safflower remains limited, and many active metabolites have yet to be thoroughly investigated in terms of their phytochemical and pharmacological properties. To date, only a handful of active metabolites have been isolated and assessed for their biological activity, and there is a notable deficiency in research regarding their mechanisms of action. Therefore, comprehensive studies are imperative to enhance our understanding of this diverse genus and to substantiate its therapeutic potential.
Keywords: Carthamus tinctorius L., Flavonoids, Pharmacology, Hydroxysafflor yellow A, Ethnopharmacology
Received: 10 Apr 2025; Accepted: 22 Jul 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Bai, Yang and Wang. 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: Rui Wang, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
Disclaimer: All claims expressed in this article are solely those of the authors and do not necessarily represent those of their affiliated organizations, or those of the publisher, the editors and the reviewers. Any product that may be evaluated in this article or claim that may be made by its manufacturer is not guaranteed or endorsed by the publisher.