TABLE 2.

Chinese medicinal herb-derived carbon dots with various properties.

Property	TCM derived CDs formulates	Possible action mechanisms	References
Anti-gouty effect	Citrus × aurantium L. Carbonisata-CDs	● Reducing hyperuricemia by inhibiting XOD activities in the serum and liver.	Wang S. et al. (2019)
		● Reducing MSU crystal induced inflammatory responses by inhibiting the generation of IL-1β and TNF-α.
	Pueraria montana var. lobata (Willd.) Maesen and S.M.Almeida ex Sanjappa and Predeep-CDs	● Lowering the level of blood uric acid by inhibiting XOD activity	Wang X. et al. (2019)
		● Reducing the swelling and alleviating pathological damage of gouty arthritis.
Anti-inflammatory effect	Lonicera japonica Thunb. Carbonisata-CDs	● Reducing LPS-induced fever and hypothermia.	Wu et al. (2020)
		● Relieving inflammation by reducing the serum concentrations of TNF-α, IL- 1β and IL-6.
	MSC-CDs	● Inhibiting IL-6 and TNF-α expression.	Wang et al. (2020)
	Sophora flavescens Aiton Carbonisata-CDs	● Decreasing the levels of NF-κB as well as its downstream proinflammatory cytokines (TNF-α and IL-6)	Hu et al. (2021)
Hypoglycemic effect	JSX-CDs	● The underlying mechanism is still needed to elucidate	Sun et al. (2018b)
Hepatoprotective effect	Juncus effusus L. Carbonisata-CDs	● Reducing serum levels of biochemical indexs of liver injury (e.g., aspartate aminotransferase, alanine amino transferase, alkaline phosphatase, total bilirubin and direct bilirubin)	Cheng J. et al. (2019)
	Paeonia lactiflora Pall. Carbonisata-CDs	● Improving the body’s capacity to scavenge oxygen free radicals, prevent lipid peroxidation in hepatocytes and regulate the metabolism of cholic acids and bilirubin	Zhao et al. (2020)
Anti-psoriasis effect	Phellodendron chinense C. K. Schneid. Carbonisata-CDs	● Regulating of M1/M2 polarization	Zhang et al. (2021)
Anti-liver cancer activity	Zingiber officinale Roscoe-CDs	● Inhibiting the growth of tumors by reaching the tumor site probably by enhancing permeability and retention (EPR) effect.	Li et al. (2014)