Chemical constituents, pharmacological activities and quality evaluation methods of genus Hippocampus: A comprehensive review

The genus Hippocampus is a multi-origin animal species with high medicinal and healthcare values. About 57 species of Hippocampus spread worldwide, of which about 14 species can be used as medicine, showing anti-oxidation, anti-inflammation, anti-depressant, anti-hypertension, anti-prostatic hyperplasia, antivirus, anti-apoptotic, antifatigue, and so on. And those pharmacological effects are mainly related to their active ingredients, including amino acids, abundant proteins (peptides and oligopeptides), fatty acids, nucleosides, steroids, and other small molecular compounds. The main means of authentication of Hippocampus species are morphological identification, microscopic identification, thin layer chromatography method, fingerprint method and genomics method. This review will provide useful insight for exploration, further study and precise medication of Hippocampus in the future.