Papers of the Week

plants are members of the family, which include more than 200 species worldwide. We summarized previous reports on traditional clinical applications, bioactivities, and phytochemistry of by searching electronic databases of Science Direct, Web of Science, PubMed, and some books. Some species have been used as traditional medicines, demonstrating calming fright and tranquilizing mind, promoting Qi and blood, activating blood circulation and regulating menstruation, dispelling wind and eliminating dampness, regulating Qi-flowing to relieve pain, and promoting digestion and checking diarrhea, and treating diseases of the nervous, cardiovascular, and digestive systems, inflammation, gynecology, and others. Pharmacology studies revealed the effects of , including sedative, hypnotic, antispasmodic, analgesic, antidepressant, anxiolytic, anticonvulsant, antiepileptic, neuroprotective, antibacterial, antiviral, cytotoxic, and antitumor effects as well as cardiovascular and cerebrovascular system improvements. More than 800 compounds have been isolated or identified from , including iridoids, lignans, flavonoids, sesquiterpenoids, alkaloids, and essential oils. Constituents with neuroprotective, anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, and sedative activities were also identified. However, at present, the developed drugs from are far from sufficient. We further discussed the pharmacological effects, effective constituents, and mechanisms directly related to the traditional clinical applications of , revealing that only several species and their essential oils were well developed to treat insomnia. To effectively promote the utilization of resources, more species as well as their different medicinal parts should be the focus of future related studies. Clinical studies should be performed based on the traditional efficacies of to facilitate their use in treating diseases of nervous, cardiovascular, and digestive systems, inflammation, and gynecology. Future studies should also focus on developing effective fractions or active compounds of into new drugs to treat diseases associated with neurodegeneration, cardiovascular, and cerebrovascular, inflammation and tumors. Our review will promote the development and utilization of potential drugs in and avoid wasting their medicinal resources.