Plants produce thousands of chemically diverse secondary metabolites, many of which have valuable pharmaceutical properties. There is much interest in the synthesis of these pharmaceuticallyvaluable compounds, including the key enzymes and the transcription factors involved. The function and regulatory mechanism of transcription factors in biotic and abiotic stresses have been studied in depth. However, their regulatory roles in the biosynthesis of bioactive compounds, especially in medicinal plants, have only begun. Here, we review what is currently known about how transcription factors contribute to the synthesis of bioactive compounds (alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and phenolic acids) in medicinal plants. Recent progress has been made in the cloning and characterization of transcription factors in medicinal plants on the genome scale. So far, several large transcription factors have been identified in MYB, WRKY, bHLH, ZIP, AP2/ERF transcription factors. These transcription factors have been predicted to regulate bioactive compound production. These transcription factors positively or negatively regulate the expression of multiple genes encoding key enzymes, and thereby control the metabolic flow through the biosynthetic pathway. Although the research addressing this niche topic is in its infancy, significant progress has been made, and advances in high-throughput sequencing technology are expected to accelerate the discovery of key regulatory transcription factors in medicinal plants. This review is likely to be useful for those interested in the synthesis of pharmaceutically- valuable plant compounds, especially those aiming to breed or engineer plants that produce greater yields of these compounds.

植物产生数以千计的化学性质不同的次生代谢物，其中许多具有宝贵的药物特性。人们对这些具有药用价值的化合物的合成非常感兴趣，包括所涉及的关键酶和转录因子。转录因子在生物和非生物胁迫中的功能和调控机制已得到深入研究。然而，它们在生物活性化合物的生物合成中的调节作用，尤其是在药用植物中，才刚刚开始。在这里，我们回顾了目前已知的关于转录因子如何促进药用植物中生物活性化合物（生物碱、萜类、黄酮类和酚酸）的合成。最近在基因组规模的药用植物转录因子的克隆和表征方面取得了进展。到目前为止，已经在 MYB、WRKY、bHLH、ZIP、AP2/ERF 转录因子中鉴定了几个大的转录因子。已预测这些转录因子可调节生物活性化合物的产生。这些转录因子正向或负向调节编码关键酶的多个基因的表达，从而控制通过生物合成途径的代谢流。尽管针对这一利基主题的研究还处于起步阶段，但已经取得了重大进展，预计高通量测序技术的进步将加速药用植物中关键调控转录因子的发现。这篇综述可能对那些对合成具有药用价值的植物化合物感兴趣的人有用，