Medicarpin (MED) is an isoflavonoid compound derived from traditional Chinese medicine (TCM). Numerous preliminary experimental studies have shown that MED has significant pharmacological effects in the treatment of cancer, osteoporosis, osteoarthritis, Alzheimer's disease (AD), arthritis, and other diseases. However, the clinical application of MED has not yet been reported. Summarizing the preclinical drug research of MED is helpful for clarifying its pharmacological activities and evaluating its research prospects. In this review, we search for the preliminary experimental research of MED, encompassing pharmaceutics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical studies, and toxicology. A comprehensive review of the chemical synthesis and biosynthesis, biological activities, mechanisms, bioavailability, and clinical research of MED is conducted to systematically evaluate its safety, efficacy, and druggability. Ultimately, our work promotes the understanding of MED and facilitates its clinical translation and application. • The preclinical experimental research of MED is systematically reviewed, encompassing pharmaceutics, pharmacodynamics, pharmacology, pharmacokinetics, clinical studies, and toxicology. • The applications of Chinese formulas containing MED in humans are comprehensively reviewed for the first time, clarifying the therapeutic potential of MED. • We summarize the bottlenecks in the current research of MED and point out the future research directions, facilitating the rapid implementation of its clinical trials.
Kong et al. (Wed,) studied this question.