Research progress on benzylisoquinoline compounds in plants of the genus Corydalis
There are over 400 species of Corydalis plants in the Papaveraceae family, and about 300 species in China, accounting for about 70%. It is distributed all over the country, especially in the southwest region. There are more than 120 species produced in the Tibetan Plateau, of which there are more than 90 species in Xizang alone. They grow on mountain grass slopes and under sparse forests, and are relatively easy to collect. Therefore, Corydalis plants are widely used in traditional Chinese medicine and folk medicine. The 2020 edition of the Chinese Pharmacopoeia includes the widely used Corydalis yanhusuo C. in the genus Corydalis yanhusuo、 Summer without C decumbens、 Kudi Ding C Medicinal plants such as Bungeana, compound Corydalis yanhusuo tablets, and summer no injection have been used in clinical practice. Purple violet plants are used in traditional Chinese medicine clinical practice to clear heat, detoxify, remove dampness, and relieve pain. They are also used to treat diseases such as colds, fever, ulcers, and ulcers. Tibetan medicine also uses them to treat various inflammations and hypertension.
Alkaloids are the main components of the genus Corydalis, and some scholars have reported that it contains flavonoids, coumarins, amino acids, glycosides, and other components. Literature tracing shows that Canadian scholar Manske first studied the alkaloid components of this genus of plants in 1946. Subsequently, domestic and foreign scholars have conducted research on the chemical composition and pharmacological activity of this genus of plants. After investigation, some scholars have also summarized the chemical composition of this genus in the early stage, but the summary of extraction methods and chemical composition is not comprehensive. This article aims to provide a systematic review of the reported components, pharmacological effects, extraction and isolation methods of benzylisoquinoline alkaloids in plants of the genus Corydalis, and to summarize and prospect their research status and application prospects, providing reference for the enrichment of medicinal chemical components in plants and safe drug use.

The chemical composition of plants in the genus Corydalis is diverse and complex, and the main component based on isoquinoline alkaloids is also a major area of research. At present, various components of this genus have been isolated from plants, and studies have been conducted on their chemical composition, pharmacological effects, and biosynthetic pathways. Research has shown that benzylisoquinoline alkaloids can identify relevant targets through protein-protein interactions, and have good effects in pain relief, anti hepatitis, anti arrhythmia, anti-tumor, and protection of cardiovascular and gastrointestinal systems. However, in the process of summarizing this genus of plants, it was found that later research can focus on the following aspects: from the perspective of pharmacological effects, although multiple pharmacological effects have been found, many of them are based on crude plant extracts, and the study of monomeric compounds is relatively shallow, without in-depth research at the molecular level, and the structure-activity relationship cannot be effectively summarized. Therefore, in the later stage of pharmacological action, the focus should be on the medicinal mechanism and bioavailability. From the perspective of extraction methods, using a mixture of water and ethanol as the extraction reagent is the most common extraction method. However, in terms of extraction yield, the proportion of alkaloid components in the total extract is relatively small. Therefore, it is worth investigating whether other large amounts of non alkaloid components have pharmacological effects or what role they play in the overall action of medicinal materials. Moreover, through literature research, it has been found that the study of non alkaloid components in this genus of plants is quite weak. Therefore, the author believes that the focus of later chemical composition research should also be on non alkaloid components. From the perspective of the species of plants in the genus Corydalis, there are numerous types and a wide distribution of resources. This article summarizes 37 reported species of Corydalis plants. However, currently the most extensively studied is Yanhusuo C yanhusuo、 Summer without C Decombens and Kudi Ding C Bungeana and more than ten other medicinal plants. Therefore, in order to fully utilize the medicinal value of this genus of plants, further research is needed on the chemical composition and pharmacological activity of other plants in the purple violet genus. From the perspective of chemical separation methods, there are various types of separation, and modern separation techniques are needed for the separation of alkaloids. Using mass spectrometry analysis technology to identify the structural fragments of alkaloids for compound prediction, and then using activity guidance to more accurately obtain the target product, saving separation time. At present, a large amount of work has been carried out on the biosynthetic pathway, which is one of the main studies in plant metabolites. This article summarizes the complex benzylisoquinoline components. If we focus on alkaloids in the later stage, we can conduct in-depth research at the molecular level to effectively identify specific targets for their pharmacological effects.