Table 1.

Basic information of TCM alkaloids involved in this review.

Alkaloids	Chemical formula	Sources	Bioactivities	Existing problems	References
Vincristine	C46H56N4O10	Catharanthi Rosei herba	Curing non-Hodgkin’s lymphoma, acute lymphoblastic leukemia, hematologic malignancies, and other solid tumors	Extensive distribution and long elimination; severe neurotoxicity	(Sethi et al., 1981; Silverman et al., 2013; Silverman & Deitcher, 2013; Said & Tsimberidou, 2014)
10-Hydroxycamptothecin (10-HCPT)	C20H16N2O5	Camptothecae Acuminatae fructus; Camptothecae Acuminatae folium; Camptotheca Acuminata decne; etc.	Treating colon cancer and other tumors; reducing epidural fibrosis	Poor solubility; short half-life	(Ping et al., 2006; Sun et al., 2008; Yang et al., 2011)
Brucine	C23H26N2O4	Strychni semen; Strychni semen pulveratum; Strychnos ignatii; etc.	Inducing apoptosis of human cancer cell lines; decreasing peritoneal angiogenesis and microvessel density in vivo	Severe central nervous system toxicity; remarkable increase of blood pressure and even lethal poisoning	(Malone et al., 1992; Agrawal et al., 2011; Chen et al., 2012)
Berberine chloride	C20H18ClNO4	Coptidis rhizoma; Phellodendri Chinensis cortex; Berberidis radix; etc.	Having the activities of anti-inflammation, vasorelaxation, and cardioprotection; inducing apoptosis of cancer cells	Low oral bioavailability; poor aqueous solubility; short half-life	(Pereira et al., 2007; Ma et al., 2013; Pirillo & Catapano, 2015; Allijn et al., 2017)
Matrine	C15H24N2O	Sophorae flavescentis radix; Sophorae tonkinensis radix et phizoma; Sophora alopecuroides L; etc.	Treating the infection of hepatitis B virus; inhibiting hepatic fibrosis	Low oral bioavailability	(Li et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2011; Chai et al., 2012)
Oxymatrine	C15H24N2O2	Sophorae flavescentis radix; Sophorae tonkinensis radix et phizoma; Sophora alopecuroides L; etc.	Treating the infection of hepatitis B virus; inhibiting hepatic fibrosis	Low oral bioavailability	(Li et al., 2004; Wang et al., 2011; Chai et al., 2012)
Ligustrazine	C8H12N2	Chuanxiong rhizoma; Curcumae rhizoma; Jatrophae rhizoma; etc.	Curing vascular illnesses and the corresponding complications	Short half-life, low oral bioavailability	(Chen & Chen, 1992; Mei et al., 2008; Li et al., 2012)
Tetrandrine	C38H42N2O6	Stephaniae tetrandrae radix; Stephaniae Cepharanthae radix; Stephaniae Dielsianae radix; Stephaniae Epigaeae radix; etc.	Having the efficacies of anti-cancer and anti-inflammation; treating hypertension and pneumosilicosis	Poor solubility; low oral bioavailability	(Cai et al., 2011; Xu et al., 2014)
Aconitine	C34H47NO11	Aconiti Lateralis radix praeparata; Aconiti radix; Aconiti Kusnezoffii radix; etc.	Having the efficacies of anti-inflammation and analgesia; treating neuronal disorders	High toxicity to the central nervous system and heart; limited oral administration; short elimination half-time; frequent dosing	(Wang & Xie, 1999; Rao & Sikdar, 2000; Zhao et al., 2011)
Sinomenine	C19H23NO4	Sinomenii Caulis; Menispermum dauricum DC; Stephaniae Tetrandrae radix; Stephaniae Epigaeae radix; etc.	Having the efficacies of anti-inflammation and immunoregulation; treating allogeneic graft rejection and rheumatoid arthritis	Damage to the kidney and intestine; affecting the function of liver and heart	(Xu et al., 2008; Wang & Li, 2011)