Anti-gout active ingredients from natural plant medicines and their related mechanisms.
Level 5 - mechanism / opinion, no new human data
Scoping and narrative literature review of preclinical mechanistic studies without new human clinical data.
PubMed 41786060 · doi:10.1016/j.jep.2026.121467
What was done
Authors searched PubMed, Web of Science, and CNKI databases for literature published between May 1, 1994, and May 9, 2025, concerning natural plant products and monomeric compounds for gouty arthritis. They systematically categorized the identified plant extracts, bioactive compounds, and their reported pharmacological mechanisms.
What was found
From 282 analyzed studies, the review cataloged 164 plant extracts (including 8 saponin, 7 flavonoid, 5 polyphenol, 5 polysaccharide, 2 alkaloid, and 1 coumarin extract) and 148 bioactive compounds (including 39 terpenoids, 38 flavonoids, 25 phenols, 15 alkaloids, 12 phenylpropanoids, 5 saponins, 2 carbohydrates, and 12 other constituents). Reported mechanisms fell into seven primary pathways: uric acid reduction, anti-inflammatory activity, antioxidant effects, signaling modulation, neutrophil inhibition, joint/tissue protection, pyroptosis suppression, and autophagy promotion. Terpenoids, polyphenols, and flavonoids were the most prevalent active classes.
Why it matters
This review maps out hundreds of candidate phytochemicals and mechanistic pathways for gouty arthritis, providing a structured catalog to guide drug discovery and multi-target therapeutic development.
Limits
The abstract synthesizes predominantly preclinical and mechanistic research rather than human clinical trial data. It reports no quantitative effect sizes, comparative efficacy rankings, toxicity profiles, or human bioavailability data for the cataloged compounds.
Cited by
- supports Colchicine was utilized approximately 3,000 years ago in Egypt for reducing gout.