REVIEW article
Front. Pharmacol.
Sec. Ethnopharmacology
Volume 16 - 2025 | doi: 10.3389/fphar.2025.1624353
This article is part of the Research TopicPlant Metabolites in Drug Discovery: The Prism Perspective between Plant Phylogeny, Chemical Composition, and Medicinal Efficacy, Volume IVView all 7 articles
From Traditional Remedy to Modern Therapy: A Comprehensive Review of Palmatine's Multi-Target Mechanisms and Ethnopharmacological Potential
Provisionally accepted
- 1School of Basic Medicine, Heilongjiang University of Chinese Medicine, Harbin, China
- 2Jiamusi campus, Heilongjiang university of Chinese Medicine, jiamusi, China
- 3Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
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Background: As a core active metabolite of traditional Chinese medicines including Coptis chinensis Franch. and Phellodendron amurense Rupr., palmatine has been employed in Asian traditional medicine for centuries, primarily for treating jaundice, liver diseases, and inflammatory disorders. Modern research reveals that this isoquinoline alkaloid exhibits multi-target regulatory properties, demonstrating broad therapeutic potential across various diseases. This review systematically elucidates the molecular mechanisms of palmatine in treating digestive system disorders, neurological diseases, metabolic diseases, cancer and so on and cancers, with particular emphasis on analyzing its "disease-target-pathway" relationships.In accordance with the PRISMA guidelines, a comprehensive literature search was conducted using PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases. The search terms included "Palmatine," "Disease," "in vitro/in vivo experiment," "Inflammation," "Anti-inflammatory," and "Antioxidation." among others. The search covered all English-language articles related to palmatine published between January 1, 2014, and May 31, 2025. All included studies underwent a quality assessment. Results: Studies demonstrate palmatine's multi-target mechanisms through regulation of NF-κB/NLRP3, Nrf2/HO-1, and AMPK/mTOR signaling pathways, mediating anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and metabolic-modulating effects. Its exceptional blood-brain barrier permeability confers distinct advantages for central nervous system disorders, while its metabolites such as 8-oxypalmatine display superior bioactivity. In anticancer applications, palmatine functions through multiple mechanisms encompassing direct tumor cell cytotoxicity, metastasis suppression, and angiogenesis inhibition, while maintaining dose-dependent safety characteristics.Palmatine serves as a bridge connecting traditional medicine and modern therapy, offering novel strategies for complex diseases through its polypharmacological actions. Although limited by low bioavailability, clinical potential can be enhanced via combination therapies, structural modifications such as C13 alkylation, and nano-delivery systems. Future research should prioritize exploration of synergistic effects, targeted delivery technologies, and large-scale clinical validation.Search Strategy and Selection CriteriaA comprehensive literature search was conducted in accordance with PRISMA guidelines using PubMed, Web of Science, and Embase databases. The search encompassed all English-language articles related to "palmatine"
Keywords: Palmatine, traditional botanical drug medicine, molecular mechanism, multiple target point, Pharmacology, metabolism "Palmatine, " "Disease, " "in vitro/in vivo experiment
Received: 07 May 2025; Accepted: 27 Jun 2025.
Copyright: © 2025 Shi, Han, Huasen, Lu, Shi and Boyan. 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:
Zhouying Shi, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China
Ma Boyan, School of Basic Medicine, 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.