Traditional medicinal uses and pharmacological properties of Rhus chinensis Mill.: A systematic review

Rhus chinensis Mill., has a long history of traditional medicinal and culinary use by native people of North-Eastern part of India. It is considered as a medicine for the treatment of gastrointestinal problems, urinary complaints and many other health ailments. The review gives an insight on the traditional medicinal uses, biological and pharmacological properties, nutritional properties and its applications. An extensive literature search on R. chinensis and its use as medicinal plant was conducted. The literature search was carried out via search engine Google Scholar and databases, PubMed, Science Direct and Springer. All papers considering traditional medicinal uses and pharmacological properties were included. 37 research articles were suitable for inclusion into the review out of 112 articles retrieved. The data was heterogeneous in terms of the plant parts (leaves, stem, fruit, roots and gall extracts) used in different experimental findings, which made comparison difficult. Experimental studies on galls and leaves were common. Study findings suggested the extracts from this plant may possess anti-herpes simplex virus activity, suppress HIV-1 activity, reduces postprandial increase of blood glucose, prevent hypercholesterolemia, reduces rate of defecation in diarrhoea and protect plasma DNA injury. Utilization of R. chinensis appears promising and describes its possible uses for human health with activities like anticaries, antibacterial, antimicrobial, antidiarrhoeal, antiviral, antioxidant, anticholesterol and antidiabetic. Further exploratory studies are required to scientifically validate the existing traditional practices in relation to its health benefits.