Chemistry and pharmacology of Siraitia grosvenorii: A review

Siraitia grosvenorii is a perennial herb endemic to Guangxi province of China. Its fruit, commonly known as Luo hanguo, and has been used for hundreds of years as a natural sweetener and as a traditional medicine for the treatment of pharyngitis, pharyngeal pain, as well as an anti-tussive remedy in China. Based on ninety-three literary sources, this review summarized the advances in chemistry, biological effects, and toxicity research of S. grosvenorii during the past 30 years. Several different classes of compounds have been isolated or detected from various parts of S. grosvenorii, mainly triterpenoids, flavonoids, polysaccharides, amino acids, and essential oils. Various types of extracts or individual compounds derived from this species exhibited a wide array of biological effects e.g. anti-tussive, phlegm-relieving, anti-oxidant, immunomodulatory, liver-protecting, glucose-lowering, and anti-microbial. The existing research has shown that extracts and individual compounds from S. grosvenorii are basically non-toxic. Finally, some suggestions for further research on specific chemical and pharmacological properties of S. grosvenorii are proposed in this review.