Pharmacological Effects of Polygonati Rhizoma on "Tonifying the Kidney" and Its Development Status in the Field of Health Care

Polygonati Rhizoma has traditional effects of tonifying the kidney, with a wide clinical application. The record of Polygonati Rhizoma can be traced back to Miscellaneous Records of Famous Physicians, where Polygonati Rhizoma was catalogued "to mainly tonify and replenish qi, and long-time administration can make the body agile, prolong life and relieve hunger". In modern times, Pharmacopoeia of the People’s Republic of China 2020 also records its effect of tonifying the kidney. In this study, the records of the related functions of Polygonati Rhizoma mainly in three aspects, "prolonging life", "tonifying essence and marrow", and "strengthening muscles and bones", were first sorted out in ancient and modern classics. This study also collected relevant prescriptions, such as Polygonati Rhizoma pill, and Polygonati Rhizoma and Radix Rehmanniae pill, with kidney-tonifying effects from 8 medical books including Arcane Essentials from the Imperial Library, Formulas from Benevolent Sages Compiled during the Taiping Era, Comprehensive Recording of Divine Assistance, etc. Through further retrieval of literature and analyses, it was confirmed that the pharmacological effects of Polygonati Rhizoma on "tonifying the kidney" contain improvement of arthritis and osteoporosis, anti-aging, immunoregulation, anti-fatigue, improvement of renal injury, improvement of reproductive function and anti-hypertension. The search and statistical analyses of special food information in State Administration for Market Regulation revealed that there are 409 kinds of health-care foods, with Polygonati Rhizoma as the main raw material, which have 15 kinds of health-care functions. Among them, "kidney-tonifying" health-care products that can enhance immunity, resist fatigue, elevate bone density or delay aging accounts over 80%. The last part of this study discussed and analyzed the pharmacological research progression of Polygonati Rhizoma on "tonifying the kidney" and its development status in the field of health care, so as to provide reference for in-depth development and application of Polygonati Rhizoma.