Ligustrum lucidum

Common Names

Privet
Nu zhen zi
Glossy privet
Dong qing zin

How It Works
Ligustrum lucidum has not been shown to treat cancer in humans.
Ligustrum lucidum is a Chinese medicinal herb used to treat diminished eye sight, dizziness, fever, and insomnia, and to increase immune function in cancer patients. In vitro studies suggest it has antioxidant, antitumor, and immune function effects. A few animal studies suggest properties that may have benefits on bone and vision. However, studies have not been conducted in humans.
Purported Uses
- Cancer treatment
  In vitro studies suggest that Ligustrum lucidum has anticancer properties, but clinical evidence is lacking.
- Immunostimulation
  Data from laboratory studies suggest that Ligustrum lucidum may change immune response.
- Antiviral
  A few laboratory studies suggest antiviral effects.
- To improve eyesight
  Ligustrum lucidum is used in Chinese medicine to treat poor eye sight but there is no clinical evidence to support this.
- To treat dizziness
  There are no data to support this use although Ligustrum lucidum is used to treat dizziness in Chinese medicine.
- Fever
  This use is not backed by scientific evidence.
- Insomnia
  There are no data to support this use.
Do Not Take If
You have hypersensitivity to Ligustrum lucidum.
Scientific Name
Ligustrum lucidum
Clinical Summary
Ligustrum lucidum is a Chinese medicinal plant that is often used in combination with other herbs in botanical formulas. There are several species of Ligustrum that are thought to have different medicinal properties ⁽²⁾ ⁽³⁾. Traditionally, the plant is used to treat diminished eye sight, dizziness, fever, and insomnia. Some herbalists also use it to treat side effects caused by chemotherapy and to increase immune function in cancer patients.
In vitro studies suggest that the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum have antitumor ⁽⁴⁾ ⁽⁵⁾ ⁽⁶⁾, immunomodulatory ⁽⁷⁾ ⁽¹³⁾, antioxidative ⁽¹⁾, antidiabetic ⁽¹²⁾, antiosteoporotic ⁽¹⁵⁾, antiviral ⁽⁸⁾ ⁽¹⁶⁾, antimutagenic ⁽⁹⁾ ⁽¹⁰⁾, and hepatoprotective ⁽¹¹⁾ properties. Laboratory studies also suggest cytotoxic effects in hepatocellular carcinoma cells ⁽¹⁷⁾ ⁽¹⁸⁾. In animal studies, Ligustrum compounds exhibited potential antiosteoporotic ⁽¹⁹⁾ and vision sparing ⁽²⁰⁾ effects. Other models suggest that Ligustrum in combination with Siberian ginseng may be helpful for chemotherapy-induced myelosuppression ⁽²¹⁾. However, no studies have been conducted in humans.
Purported Uses
- Cancer treatment
- Immunostimulation
- Dizziness
- Fever
- Insomnia
- Poor vision
Mechanism of Action
In vitro studies suggest antitumor effects occur via immunomodulation and by reverting macrophage suppression brought about by tumors ⁽⁴⁾, or are due to increases in phagocytes and lymphokine-activated killer cells ⁽⁵⁾. Ligustrum may induce apoptosis in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells via p21 upregulation ⁽¹⁷⁾. Hepatoprotective effects are due to oleanolic acid and perhaps mediated by an increase in hepatic glutathione regeneration capacity ⁽¹¹⁾.
Secoiridoid glucosides showed antioxidant effects against free radical-associated hemolysis of erythrocytes ⁽¹⁾. The secoiridoid glucoside oleuropein has demonstrated antiviral activity against respiratory syncytial virus and parainfluenza type 3 virus ⁽⁸⁾ while other secoiridoid compounds showed activity against influenza A virus ⁽¹⁶⁾. The compound specnuezhenide may confer vision improvement effects via inhibition of HIF-1alpha/VEGF signaling pathway ⁽²⁰⁾.
Salidroside and nuzhenide have been identified as potential antiosteoporotic compounds ⁽¹⁵⁾. In a murine model of diabetes-induced osteoporosis, ligustroflavone from Ligustrum fruit appeared to have protective effects via regulation of parathyroid hormone levels and improved calcium balance by acting on calcium-sensing receptors ⁽¹⁹⁾.
Contraindications
Hypersensitivity to this herb.
Adverse Reactions
None reported.
References
1. He ZD, et al. Antioxidative glucosides from the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 2001; 49(6):780-784.
2. Lau KM, et al. Anti-oxidative, anti-inflammatory and hepato-protective effects of Ligustrum robustum. J Ethnopharmacol 2002; 83(1-2):63-71.
3. Wong IY, et al. Antioxidative activities of phenylethanoid glycosides from Ligustrum purpurascens. J Agric Food Chem 2001; 49(6):3113-3119.
4. Rittenhouse JR, Lui PD, Lau BH. Chinese medicinal herbs reverse macrophage suppression induced by urological tumors. J Urol 1991; 146(2):486-490.
5. Lau BH, et al. Chinese medicinal herbs inhibit growth of murine renal cell carcinoma. Cancer Biother 1994; 9(2):153-161.
6. Hsieh TC, et al. Effects of herbal preparation Equiguard on hormone-responsive and hormone-refractory prostate carcinoma cells: mechanistic studies. Int J Oncol 2002; 20(4):681-689.
7. Sun Y, et al. Immune restoration and/or augmentation of local graft versus host reaction by traditional Chinese medicinal herbs. Cancer 1983; 52(1):70-73.
8. Ma SC, et al. In vitro evaluation of secoiridoid glucosides from the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum as antiviral agents. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo) 2001; 49(11):1471-1473.
9. Wong BY, et al. Chinese medicinal herbs modulate mutagenesis, DNA binding and metabolism of aflatoxin B1. Mutat Res 1992; 279(3):209-216.
10. Niikawa M, et al.Isolation of substances from glossy privet (Ligustrum lucidum Ait.) inhibiting the mutagenicity of benzo[a]pyrene in bacteria. Mutat Res 1993; 319(1):1-9.
11. Yim TK, et al. Hepatoprotective action of an oleanolic acid-enriched extract of Ligustrum lucidum fruits is mediated through an enhancement on hepatic glutathione regeneration capacity in mice. Phytother Res 2001; 15(7):589-592.
12. Gao D, Li Q, Li Y, et al. Antidiabetic and antioxidant effects of oleanolic acid from Ligustrum lucidum Ait in alloxan-induced diabetic rats. Phytother Res. 2009 Sep;23(9):1257-62.
13. Wang J, Shan A, Liu T, Zhang C, Zhang Z. In vitro immunomodulatory effects of an oleanolic acid-enriched extract of Ligustrum lucidum fruit (Ligustrum lucidum supercritical CO2 extract) on piglet immunocytes. Int Immunopharmacol. 2012 Dec;14(4):758-63.
14. Aoki S, Honda Y, Kikuchi T, Miura T, et al. Six new secoiridoids from the dried fruits of Ligustrum lucidum. Chem Pharm Bull (Tokyo). 2012;60(2):251-6.
15. Chen Q, Yang L, Zhang G, et al. Bioactivity-guided Isolation of antiosteoporotic compounds from Ligustrum lucidum. Phytother Res. Jul 2013;27(7):973-979.
16. Pang X, Zhao JY, Yu HY, et al. Secoiridoid analogues from the fruits of Ligustrum lucidum and their inhibitory activities against influenza A virus. Bioorg Med Chem Lett. May 15 2018;28(9):1516-1519.
17. Hu B, Du Q, Deng S, et al. Ligustrum lucidum Ait. fruit extract induces apoptosis and cell senescence in human hepatocellular carcinoma cells through upregulation of p21. Oncol Rep. Sep 2014;32(3):1037-1042.
18. Tian G, Chen J, Luo Y, et al. Ethanol extract of Ligustrum lucidum Ait. leaves suppressed hepatocellular carcinoma in vitro and in vivo. Cancer Cell Int. 2019;19:246.
19. Feng R, Ding F, Mi XH, et al. Protective Effects of Ligustroflavone, an Active Compound from Ligustrum lucidum, on Diabetes-Induced Osteoporosis in Mice: A Potential Candidate as Calcium-Sensing Receptor Antagonist. Am J Chin Med. 2019;47(2):457-476.
20. Wu J, Ke X, Fu W, et al. Inhibition of Hypoxia-Induced Retinal Angiogenesis by Specnuezhenide, an Effective Constituent of Ligustrum lucidum Ait., through Suppression of the HIF-1alpha/VEGF Signaling Pathway. Molecules. Dec 21 2016;21(12).
21. Wang C, Gao H, Cai E, et al. Protective effects of Acanthopanax senticosus – Ligustrum lucidum combination on bone marrow suppression induced by chemotherapy in mice. Biomed Pharmacother. Jan 2019;109:2062-2069.