Pheretima: A system review of zoology, traditional applications, processing technology, chemical composition,...

Pheretima (PA), the dry body of Megascolecidae animal Pheretima aspergillum (E.Perrier), Pheretima vulgaris Chen, Pheretima guillelmi (Michaelsen) and Pheretima pectinifera Michaelsen is known as earthworm. For thousands of years, it has been utilized for renal yang deficiency, weakness of tendons and bones, Benign tumors, ulcerative diseases, and cardiovascular and cerebrovascular diseases.

This review aimed to provide a comprehensive overview of PA in terms of zoology, traditional applications, processing technology, chemical composition, pharmacologic activities, quality control and toxicity, providing a reference for the rational use of PA and laying a foundation for the clinical research of PA.

This article searched for information about PA from Researchgate, Web of Science, Baidu Scholar, Google Scholar, X-MOL, CNKI, and other databases using the keywords Pheretima, zoology, compounds, pharmacology, and quality control.

Till now, a total of 509 chemical components have been identified in PA, including 52 amino acid (1-52) components, 28 nucleoside compounds (53-80), 117 lipid compounds (81-197), 13 steroid compounds (198-210), 117 protein and peptide components (323-439), 47 enzyme components (440-486), 112 other compounds (211-322), and 23 trace elements, among proteins and enzymes are the main active ingredients. PA and its main active constituents have the effects of cardiovascular protection, enhancing immunity, wound healing, anti-tumor, anti-fibrosis, cough and asthma, etc. The therapeutic effect on cardiovascular diseases is particularly significant. PA's lipids, proteins, and enzymes can treat cardiovascular diseases by inhibiting coagulation, preventing platelet aggregation, and promoting fibrinolysis etc. mechanisms. The toxicity, clinical application, and quality control of PA have been sorted out. In addition, despite the prominent therapeutic benefits of PA, further processing is still needed to remove its fishy odor, which is beneficial for people to take.

This review provides a comprehensive summary of PA and emphasizes its potential therapeutic potential, particularly in treating cardiovascular diseases. In addition, further research on PA's pharmacokinetics is strongly recommended, as this will help improve the safety and rationality of clinical applications.