A Review of Extraction and Purification, Biological Properties, Structure–Activity Relationships and Future Prospects of Schisandrin C: A Major Active Constituent of Schisandra Chinensis

Abstract Since ancient times, China has used natural medicine as the primary way to combat diseases and has a rich arsenal of natural medicines. With the progress of the times, the extraction of bioactive molecules from natural drugs has become the new development direction for natural medicines. Among the numerous natural drugs, Schisandrin C (Sch C), derived from Schisandra Chinensis (Turcz.) Baill. It has excellent potential for development and has been shown to possess various pharmacological properties, including hepatoprotective, antitumor and anti‐inflammatory activities. Based on the biological properties of hepatoprotection, scholars have explored Sch C and its synthetic products in depth; some studies have shown that pentosidine has the effect of improving the symptoms of liver fibrosis and reducing the concentration of alanine transaminase (ALT) and aspartate aminotransferase (AST) in the serum of rats, which is an essential inspiration for the development of anti‐liver fibrosis drugs. But more in vivo and ex vivo studies still need to be included. This paper focuses on Sch C′s extraction and synthesis, biological activities and drug development progress. The future application prospects of Sch C are discussed to perfect its development work further.