Abstract

A lot of species of Smilax known as Baqia in China are used in folk medicine for various purposes. Smilax china L., is a small vine that grows in the southern parts of China, known as Jin Gang Ten, which has a long history of indigenous use in China. S. china consists of fat, saponins, glucosides, gum, starch, flavonoids, tannins, and alkaloids. S. china has been used in traditional Chinese medicine because it has effective components such as triterpenoid, saponins, flavones, stilbenes, and organic acids. Roots are the most common used part; stems and rhizome can be used also in the form of powder or paste, raw or cooked. The most important health benefits of S. china are energy tonic, impotency and seminal disorders, chronic arthritis and secondary and tertiary syphilis, schizophrenia and epilepsy, pemphigus and skin diseases, ostero-arthritis, leucorrhea or white discharge, relieving joints numbness, diabetes and excretory system. The obtained findings strongly suggest potential of S. china as an additive in pharmaceutical industries.

Key words: Health benefits, Smilax china, pharmaceutical industries, traditional Chinese medicine.