The leaves, stems and roots of Melicope pteleifolia (Champ. ex Benth.) T.Hartley (MP; Rutaceae, called sanyaku in Chinese; syn.: Euodia lepta), have been used traditionally for the treatment of sore throat, rheumatism, eczema, dermatitis, bruises, and insect, rat, snake bites based on traditional Chinese medicine concepts.This paper aims to provide a comprehensive and critical analysis of studies on MP and focusing on potential relationships between traditional uses and pharmacological effects, assessing the therapeutic potential as a medicine.Relevant data on MP were retrieved using the keywords "Melicope pteleifolia", "pharmacology", "toxicity" and "applications" in databases including "Pubmed", "SciFinder", "Springer", "Elsevier", "Wiley", "Web of Science", "Google Scholar", "China Knowledge Resource Integrated databases (CNKI)", "PhD" and "MSc dissertations", and a hand-search.The heat-clearing, dampness-removing and gallbladder-normalizing actions of MP have been linked to biomedical concepts like anti-inflammatory, antioxidant and hepatoprotective activities. The latter is potentially based on the presence of furaquinoline alkaloids, phenylpropanoids and flavonoids. Analgesic, antimicrobial and anti-tumor effects have also been reported. Currently limited evidence is available relating to potential toxicological risks especially of aqueous extracts with so far no reports signalling specific risks. Although some studies on the pharmacodynamics of MP have been reported, studies on action mechanisms of MP are still rare.In the future and prior to initiating clinical trials, the safety, in vitro and in vivo pharmacology, and mechanism of action of MP needs to be assessed, including a focus on the link between traditional uses and modern applications. In addition, phytochemical and biological studies need to conduct on flowers and fruits of MP. Furthermore, strict quality control measures are needed in the studies investigating any aspect of the pharmacology, chemistry and biology of MP.
