Research progress on chemical metabolites, processing technology and pharmacological activity of Asperosaponin VI: A systematic review and critical evaluation

Abstract

The purpose of this paper is to systematically sort out and critically evaluate the chemical metabolites, processing methods and pharmacological effects of the core active ingredient asperosaponin VI (ASD VI) of Dipsacus asper. By following the principle of systematic review and the best practice of ethnopharmacology, the literature up to 2025 was analyzed. The results manifested that more than one hundred metabolites including triterpenoid saponins, iridoids, phenolic acids and alkaloids had been identified in Dipsacus asper, among which ASD VI was the main active marker. Traditional wine‑frying, salt‑frying and sweating processing can significantly elevate the content and dissolution rate of ASD VI through biological transformation or physical and chemical changes, and enhance its effects of strengthening bone, tonifying kidney or hemostasis. ASD VI itself exhibits multiple pharmacological activities such as promoting bone formation, neuroprotection, improving metabolic liver disease, myocardial protection, and miscarriage prevention. Its role involves the regulation of key signaling pathways such as BMP/Smad, Wnt/β-catenin and PI3K/AKT. However, critical analysis reveals that the current research has common limitations such as single model, mechanism research mostly staying at the correlation level, and the most critical pharmacokinetics and clinical transformation data are seriously missing. For the first time, this review systematically reviews the ʻchemical composition-processing modification-component pharmacology' of Dipsacus asperoides in the same framework, which not only integrates existing knowledge, but also reveals the core scientific bottlenecks from traditional experience to modern drug development, and provides a clear roadmap for the in-depth research and development of ASD VI.