molecules Review Ethnobotany, Phytochemistry and Pharmacological Effects of Plants in Genus Cynanchum Linn. (Asclepiadaceae) Lu Han 1,2,†, Xiuping Zhou 1,2,†, Mengmeng Yang 1,2, Li Zhou 1,2, Xinxin Deng 1,2, Shijie Wei 1,2, Wenping Wang 1,2, Zhizhong Wang 1,2, Xue Qiao 1,2 and Changcai Bai 1,2,* ID 1 Key Laboratory of Hui Ethnic Medicine Modernization, Ministry of Education, Ningxia Medical University, Yinchuan 750004, China;
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[email protected]; Tel./Fax: +86-951-6880-582 † These authors contribute to the paper equally. Received: 28 April 2018; Accepted: 14 May 2018; Published: 16 May 2018 Abstract: Genus Cynanchum L. belongs to the family Asclepiadaceae, which comprise more than 200 species distributed worldwide. In Chinese medical practice, numerous drugs (such as tablets and powders) containing different parts of plants of this genus are used to treat snake bites, bruises, osteoblasts, rheumatoid arthritis and tumors. A search for original articles published on the cynanchum genus was performed by using several resources, including Flora of China Official Website and various scientific databases, such as PubMed, SciFinder, the Web of Science, Science Direct, and China Knowledge Resource Integrated (CNKI). Advances in the botanical, ethnomedicinal, phytochemical, and pharmacological studies of this genus are reviewed in this paper.