- 2026-02
- Journal of ethnopharmacology 356
- Jia Cai
- Long Wang
- Min Xu
- Shunpeng Zhu
- Yangxi Chen
- Jie Zhong
- Jiaxin Li
- Ping Zhang
- Ting Zhang
- Qiang Ye
- Hui Ao
Study Design
- Type
- Systematic Review
- Sample size
- n = 99
- Methods
- Literature search in PubMed and CNKI using keywords 'Geraniin', 'Pharmacology', 'Pharmacokinetics'; 99 articles retrieved, excluding reviews, covering 1974 to 2025
Ethnopharmacological relevance
Erodii Herba Geranii Herba (also called Laoguancao in China) is the dried aerial part of Geranium wilfordii Maxim., Geranium carolinianum L. or Erodium stephanianum Willd. It has developed into a natural remedy known for its anti-inflammatory, analgesic and hepatoprotective properties, and widely recognized within traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and its cultural context. Given the traditional applications of Erodii Herba Geranii Herba, which underscore its potential as a promising source of bioactive compounds for pharmaceutical development, geraniin-one of its principal active constituents-has attracted increasing attention for its prospective development and utilization. Previous studies have demonstrated that geraniin exhibits a broad spectrum of pharmacological activities, including metabolic regulation, organ protection mediated through anti-inflammatory and antioxidant mechanisms, as well as antitumor and antiviral effects. Nevertheless, a systematic review of these pharmacological activities and their underlying mechanisms remains lacking.Aim of the study
This review focused on the pharmacological activities of geraniin and also summarized its availability, pharmacokinetics, and toxicity, thereby providing a solid theoretical foundation for its further development and practical utilization.Material and methods
The literature included in this review was identified through searches conducted in the PubMed and China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases using the keywords "Geraniin", "Pharmacology", and "Pharmacokinetics". A total of 99 articles were retrieved, excluding review articles. The retrieved publications covered a period from 1974 to 2025.Results
Geraniin demonstrated a range of pharmacological effects, including regulation of metabolism (glycolipid metabolism, blood pressure, and bone metabolism), protection of multiple organs (brain, cardiovascular, pulmonary, gastrointestinal, and renal systems), anti-tumor activity (against lung, breast, colorectal, and cervical cancers), and broad-spectrum antiviral properties. Notably, the multi-target actions of geraniin facilitated cross-disease modulation through involvement in the oxidative-inflammatory network (via NF-κB-Nrf2 and MAPK pathways) and the cell survival network (including PI3K/Akt and Wnt/β-catenin pathways), thereby underpinning its organ-protective effects, anti-tumor activity, and metabolic regulatory functions.Conclusion
These attributes suggested that geraniin held promise as a multi-targeted therapeutic agent. Thus, this paper elucidated the possibility of exploiting the resources of geraniin as a pharmaceutical product.