Plant Diversity of Central Asia

Abstract

Rhubarb has a vast distribution across Asia and has significant importance as a medicinal plant. China and Uzbekistan have a long tradition of using rhubarb species as medicinal and food plants. Both nations' traditional medicines strongly agree on the effectiveness of rhubarb. In this minireview, we summarized the existing knowledge on the plant distribution, genetic diversity, reported active ingredients with their biological efficacy, and suggest a set of research activities to combine the benefits of both nations in utilizing medicinal rhubarb resources. Conducting such systematic research in both countries according to the traditional medical knowledge of China and Uzbekistan, and using modern molecular biology and analytical bioscience technology, will significantly enhance the research level of medicinal rhubarb, also enhance further research and medicinal usage of rhubarb as healthy products, as well as the development and utilization of rhubarb resources.