Research progress on chemical composition, pharmacological activity and clinical application of Gansui
The traditional Chinese medicine Gan Sui is the dried root tuber of Euphorbia kansui T. N. Liou ex T. P. Wang, a plant belonging to the Euphorbiaceae family and Euphorbia L. genus. It is a unique Chinese herbal medicine. The plant Gansui, also known as Zhutian, Chongze, Maoeryan, etc., is mainly distributed in Gansu, Shanxi, Shaanxi, Qinghai and other places. It mostly grows on low slopes, barren slopes, sandy land, and field edges. Gansui was artificially cultivated in the 1990s.
The traditional Chinese medicine Gan Sui was first recorded in the “Shennong Bencao Jing” and belongs to the lower grade. Gan Sui has a bitter taste, a cold nature, and is toxic. It belongs to the lung, kidney, and large intestine meridians, and has the effects of expelling water, reducing swelling, and dispersing lumps. It is mainly used to treat diseases such as gas reflux, cough and wheezing, phlegm accumulation, pleural and abdominal effusion, and poor bowel function. Due to its strong ability to expel water, it is praised by medical practitioners as the “holy medicine for expelling water”. The main active ingredients of kansui are diterpenoids and triterpenoids, which have pharmacological activities such as anti-tumor, anti leukemia, anti influenza virus, anti HIV virus, anti schizophrenia, treatment of chronic bronchitis, asthma, advanced esophageal cancer, breast cancer, etc.
At present, research on the chemical composition and pharmacological activity of Gansui mainly focuses on the extraction, separation, structural identification, and pharmacological activity of diterpenes and triterpenoids in Gansui raw extracts. This article provides a review and analysis of the chemical components, pharmacological activities, processing, and clinical applications of Gansui from the 19th century to the present, providing a theoretical basis for the in-depth research and sustainable development and utilization of Gansui.

For a long time, active compounds derived from plants have been an important source of new drug development due to their excellent structural diversity and biocompatibility. Gan Sui is a unique Chinese herbal medicine with a complex and diverse chemical composition. Gansui contains various active ingredients, including diterpenes, triterpenes, diterpenoid glycosides, as well as newly discovered skeleton terpenoids. Kansui has shown good activity in anti-tumor, anti leukemia, anti influenza virus, anti HIV virus, anti schizophrenia, treatment of chronic bronchitis, asthma, advanced esophageal cancer, breast cancer and other aspects, and has great development and application prospects.
At present, research on Gansui mainly focuses on its chemical composition and pharmacological activity, and there is still a lack of research on its structure-activity relationship, pharmacokinetics, and toxic activity mechanism. It is necessary to conduct in-depth research on the structure-activity relationship, pharmacokinetics, chemical composition changes before and after processing, pharmacological effects, and toxicity of Gansui. The author provides a comprehensive review of the chemical composition, pharmacological activity, processing, and clinical application of Gansui, in order to provide a research foundation and theoretical basis for the in-depth study of Gansui.