Nelumbo nucifera flower

Nelumbo nucifera flower is the blossom of the sacred lotus plant, widely used in traditional medicine and as a functional food across Asia. It contains various bioactive compounds such as alkaloids (notably neferine and isoliensinine), flavonoids, polyphenols, terpenoids, steroids, and glycosides. These constituents are associated with antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, immunomodulatory, hepatoprotective, hypoglycemic (blood sugar lowering), hyperlipidemic (cholesterol lowering), cardioprotective and anticancer activities. Mechanistically—based on preclinical studies—certain alkaloids from N. nucifera induce apoptosis in cancer cells via reactive oxygen species generation and modulation of signaling pathways like p38 mitogen-activated protein kinase/JNK (p38 MAPK/JNK) pathway; they also inhibit Wnt/β-catenin signaling pathway and downregulate multidrug resistance proteins such as P-glycoprotein (P-gp) and multidrug resistance-associated protein (MRP). Despite its long history of use for conditions including fever, inflammation disorders (such as gastritis), insomnia/nervous disorders/epilepsy/hypertension/cardiovascular diseases/obesity/hyperlipidemia/diarrhea/tissue inflammation/homeostasis support/cutaneous diseases/metrorrhagia/hematemesis/body heat imbalance/circulatory system health promotion/blood glucose regulation/blood lipid reduction/oxidative stress reduction—and its popularity in teas or foods—there is insufficient clinical trial evidence to recommend it for any specific indication[1][3][4][5][6].

Other names

nelumbo nuciferasacred lotusindian lotuschinese water lilykamalapadmalotus plumule