Opportunities and challenges for ribosome-inactivating proteins in traditional Chinese medicine plants.

Ribosome-inactivating proteins (RIPs) are a class of cytotoxic rRNA N-glycosylase, which widely exist in higher plants in different taxonomy, including many traditional Chinese medicinal materials and vegetables and fruits. In this paper, the traditional Chinese medicinal plants containing RIPs protein were sorted out, and their pharmacological effects and clinical applications were analyzed. Since many RIPs in traditional Chinese medicine plants exhibit antiviral and antitumor activities and show great clinical application potential, people's interest in these proteins is on the rise. This paper summarizes the possible mechanism of RIPs's anti-virus and anti-tumor effects, and discusses its potential problems and risks, laying a foundation for subsequent research on how to exert its anti-virus and anti-tumor effects. [Display omitted] • Provides a summary of traditional Chinese medicine plants that contain ribosome-inactivating proteins. • Analyzes the application of these traditional medicinal plants containing ribosome-inactivating proteins in traditional Chinese medicine. • Discusses the potential mechanisms of ribosome-inactivating proteins in terms of their antiviral and anti-tumor effects. • Proposes the challenges of these proteins in clinical application, and possible improvement methods were explored. We provide a comprehensive summary of traditional medicinal plants that contain RIPs proteins in these review. It analyzes their pharmacological effects and clinical applications, while also discussing the potential mechanisms of their antiviral and anti-tumor effects. Furthermore, the review addresses the possible problems and risks associated with RIPs, establishing a solid foundation for future research on maximizing their antiviral and anti-tumor properties. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]