Abstract: Saponins are a group of compounds used in clinical practice in the management of several diseases. Escin is a natural mixture of triterpene saponins which mainly consist of several isoforms, in which the α- and β-escin are predominant. β-escin is the major active compound that exerts a therapeutic effect by relieving tissue edema, promoting venous drainage, and reducing inflammation. In this review, we describe the features of its glucocorticoid-like activity that could explain its clinical effects. Using PubMed, Embase Cochrane library and reference lists for articles published until October 01, 2020, we documented that escin is likely able to exert its anti-inflammatory and anti-edematous effects through a glucocorticoid-like activity, but without the development of glucocorticoid-like adverse drug reactions.

Keywords: escin, mechanism of action, glucocorticoid-like activity, clinical efficacy


中文翻译：

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七叶素的类糖皮质激素活性：老药的新机制

摘要：皂苷是一组在临床实践中用于治疗多种疾病的化合物。七叶素是三萜皂苷的天然混合物，主要由几种异构体组成，其中α-和β-七叶素占主导地位。β-七叶素是主要的活性化合物，通过缓解组织水肿、促进静脉引流和减轻炎症发挥治疗作用。在这篇综述中，我们描述了其类糖皮质激素活性的特征，可以解释其临床效果。使用 PubMed、Embase Cochrane 库和截至 2020 年 10 月 1 日发表的文章的参考列表，我们记录了七叶皂苷可能能够通过糖皮质激素样活性发挥其抗炎和抗水肿作用，但不会产生糖皮质激素-比如药物不良反应。

关键词：七叶皂苷，作用机制，糖皮质激素样活性，临床疗效