Recent advances in chemistry, therapeutic properties and sources of polydatin

Polydatin (pld), the 3-o-β-glucopyranoside of the well-known stilbenoid compound resveratrol, is a major compound of fallopia japonica (houtt.) r. decr. (japanese knotweed), which is widely used in traditional chinese medicine to treat infection, inflammatory diseases and circulatory problems. it has shown a wide range of biological activities including anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidant, anti-cancer, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, nephroprotective and immunostimulatory effects. although resveratrol has similar beneficial effects, its low bioavailability has remained a problem. glycosylation increases solubility of resveratrol in an aqueous environment, thus improving its bioavailability. this has led to a growing interest in pld. promising results obtained from bioactivity studies have boosted an intense research on this compound. the aim of this review is to give a comprehensive overview of the botanical sources, pharmacology, biosynthesis, biotechnological production, and bioactivities of pld, and to discuss clinical studies on this compound.