Medicinal plants in China containing pyrrolizidine alkaloids

Medicinal plants and remedies are widely used for various ailments throughout the world. Many of these plants contain pyrrolizidine alkaloids (PAs) which are hepatotoxic, pneumotoxic, genotoxic, neurotoxic, and cytotoxic. As a result of their use in Traditional Chinese Medicine (TCM), medicinal plants are becoming increasingly important not only in China but also in many other countries. This paper will therefore give, a critical overview of PA-containing plants belonging mainly to the families Boraginaceae, Leguminosae (Tribus Crotalarieae), and Asteraceae (Tribus Senecioneae and Eupatorieae). The PAs contained in the 38 plants described here differ widely in their structure and toxicity. Their metabolism and the resulting toxicity will be discussed, the dehydroalkaloids (DHAlk) produced in the liver playing a key role in cases of intoxications.