Obtusifolin

Obtusifolin at a Glance

Obtusifolin is a hydroxy-methoxy-methyl anthraquinone (2,8-dihydroxy-1-methoxy-3-methylanthraquinone) — one of the signature pigments of Cassia/Senna seed, the Chinese-medicine drug jue ming zi (“cassia seed”). It sits in the same anthraquinone-laxative family as emodin, chrysophanol and rhein, but carries an extra methoxy group that distinguishes it structurally and, as it turns out, functionally.

Its most distinctive feature is context: jue ming zi is used in traditional Chinese medicine two ways at once — as a mild stimulant laxative and as an eye-and-liver “brightening” tonic credited with sharpening vision and easing headache and dizziness ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}. That second, cognition-adjacent role is what makes a Cassia-seed anthraquinone interesting, and obtusifolin is one of the molecules people reach for to explain it.

The honest headline is that obtusifolin’s own evidence is entirely preclinical, and the most eye-catching claims sort into two piles. Where the isolated molecule was actually tested, the strongest signal is NF-κB-driven anti-inflammatory activity across rodent injury models, plus potent, selective CYP1A2 inhibition and some anti-glycation and metabolic-enzyme chemistry ^{7,9,10Reference 7Park EJ et al. · 2022Potent and selective inhibition of CYP1A2 enzyme by obtusifolin and its chemopreventive effectsView study →Reference 9Nam J et al. · 2021AnimalObtusifolin, an anthraquinone extracted from Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, reduces inflammation in a mouse osteoarthritis modelView study →Reference 10Shaikh TB et al. · 2025Obtusifolin mitigates acute lung injury and improves cardio-pulmonary functions in acute lung injury model by modulating oxidative stress and NF-κB signalingView study →}. Where the marquee cognition/neuroprotection story comes from, the thing tested was the whole seed extract, not obtusifolin ^{5,6Reference 5Yi JH et al. · 2016Cassia obtusifolia seed ameliorates amyloid β-induced synaptic dysfunction through anti-inflammatory and Akt/GSK-3β pathwaysView study →Reference 6Drever BD et al. · 2008AnimalThe seed extract of Cassia obtusifolia offers neuroprotection to mouse hippocampal culturesView study →}. There are no human trials of the isolate, and the hydroxyanthracene class it belongs to carries a genotoxicity caution ^{14Reference 14EFSA ANS Panel · 2018Safety of hydroxyanthracene derivatives for use in foodView study →}.

A Cassia-Seed Anthraquinone

Obtusifolin is best understood as a member of a family, not a soloist. The seeds of sicklepod (Cassia obtusifolia / Senna obtusifolia, and the closely related C. tora) accumulate a whole suite of anthraquinones — emodin, chrysophanol, physcion, obtusin, aurantio-obtusin, chryso-obtusin, alaternin, questin and aloe-emodin among them — together with naphthopyrone glycosides (rubrofusarin/toralactone types) and their glucosides (including gluco-obtusifolin) ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}. Anthraquinone content is concentrated in the seed, which is why it is the seed, jue ming zi, that is used medicinally ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}.

The dual traditional context matters for reading any of the pharmacology. Jue ming zi is at once a gentle laxative (the anthraquinone-class action, driven by the glycosides that survive to the colon) and a liver/eye tonic — “clearing liver heat,” “brightening the eyes,” easing lacrimation, headache and dizziness ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}. A Cassia-seed anthraquinone therefore has to be discussed with both hats on: it is a purgative-class molecule and the phytochemical face of a cognition-and-vision remedy.

Two research threads have grown on the vision/metabolic side, and both need the family framing:

• Diabetic-complication chemistry. Obtusifolin itself is a respectable anti-glycation agent — it inhibits advanced-glycation-end-product (AGE) formation in vitro with an IC50 near 28.9 µM, outperforming the reference inhibitor aminoguanidine in one ELISA readout ^{2Reference 2Jang DS et al. · 2007Anthraquinones from the seeds of Cassia tora with inhibitory activity on protein glycation and aldose reductaseView study →}. But the aldose-reductase activity often attached to Cassia seed (the classic polyol-pathway target for diabetic cataract and neuropathy) is not obtusifolin’s — in the same study the notable rat-lens aldose-reductase inhibitors were the sibling anthraquinones aurantio-obtusin, chryso-obtusin-2-O-glucoside and emodin, while obtusifolin showed no notable activity ^{2Reference 2Jang DS et al. · 2007Anthraquinones from the seeds of Cassia tora with inhibitory activity on protein glycation and aldose reductaseView study →}. The diabetic-eye angle is real for the seed; for obtusifolin specifically it is a glycation story, not an aldose-reductase one.
• Hepatoprotection. The seed’s Nrf2/HO-1-mediated liver-protective activity has been traced largely to its naphthopyrone and anthraquinone glycosides and toralactone derivatives, not to obtusifolin the aglycone ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}. Obtusifolin is a passenger on the hepatoprotective story rather than its driver.

This is the recurring discipline for the whole page: several of jue ming zi’s headline activities belong to the seed or to other anthraquinones, and obtusifolin is credited by association. Where obtusifolin was isolated and tested on its own, the results are collected below.

Obtusifolin & Cognition

The distinctive angle for a Cassia-seed anthraquinone is cognition and neuroprotection — and it is also where the isolate-vs-plant line is sharpest.

The underlying signal is genuine but it belongs to the whole seed extract. The ethanol extract of Cassia obtusifolia seeds (COE) improved recognition memory and ameliorated amyloid-β-induced long-term-potentiation impairment and synaptic dysfunction in mice, acting through Akt/GSK-3β signalling and an anti-inflammatory route (attenuated microglial activation, iNOS and COX) ^{5Reference 5Yi JH et al. · 2016Cassia obtusifolia seed ameliorates amyloid β-induced synaptic dysfunction through anti-inflammatory and Akt/GSK-3β pathwaysView study →}. Earlier work showed the same ethanol seed extract protects hippocampal cultures against NMDA-mediated calcium dysregulation and excitotoxic death — though, tellingly, it did not protect against amyloid-β peptide toxicity in that culture assay ^{6Reference 6Drever BD et al. · 2008AnimalThe seed extract of Cassia obtusifolia offers neuroprotection to mouse hippocampal culturesView study →}. Cassia-seed extracts also inhibit the Alzheimer-relevant enzymes acetyl- and butyrylcholinesterase and β-secretase (BACE1), but the constituents credited there are other anthraquinones — alaternin, cassiaside, emodin — with obtusifolin not among the highlighted active species ^{4Reference 4Jung HA et al. · 2016Inhibitory activities of major anthraquinones and other constituents from Cassia obtusifolia against β-secretase and cholinesterasesView study →}.

So the “brightening the eyes”/memory reputation of jue ming zi has a plausible mechanistic scaffold — anti-inflammatory, anti-excitotoxic, cholinesterase- and BACE1-inhibiting — but no study has isolated obtusifolin and shown a cognition effect for the molecule itself. The most a careful reading supports is that obtusifolin is one anthraquinone in a seed extract that carries a real preclinical neuroprotective signal. Human isolate data are absent entirely.

What It's Used For

Obtusifolin’s evidence is preclinical throughout — rodent and in-vitro — and it splits cleanly into work on the isolated molecule (anti-inflammatory, CYP1A2, anti-metastatic, metabolic-enzyme) and work on the whole Cassia seed/extract that gets attributed to it (cognition, hepatoprotection, aldose reductase).

Evidence by IndicationStrength of support · Beta

Support is an experimental score — weighted by study type (human > animal > in vitro) and volume. A beta, not a validated metric. Obtusifolin’s evidence is entirely preclinical, so scores stay low by design; each application links to its write-up.

01Anti-Inflammatory ActivityPromising48%Isolated obtusifolin, four rodent/cell NF-κB injury models ^{9,10,11,12Reference 9Nam J et al. · 2021AnimalObtusifolin, an anthraquinone extracted from Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, reduces inflammation in a mouse osteoarthritis modelView study →Reference 10Shaikh TB et al. · 2025Obtusifolin mitigates acute lung injury and improves cardio-pulmonary functions in acute lung injury model by modulating oxidative stress and NF-κB signalingView study →Reference 11Sharma N et al. · 2026Obtusifolin ameliorates pancreatic tissue injury and inflammation by modulating the NFκB signalingView study →Reference 12Xiang H et al. · 2024Obtusifolin inhibits podocyte apoptosis by inactivating NF-κB signaling in acute kidney injuryView study →}

02Anti-Glycation & Diabetic ComplicationsShaky30%Isolate AGE-inhibition in vitro; aldose-reductase activity is other anthraquinones’ ^{2Reference 2Jang DS et al. · 2007Anthraquinones from the seeds of Cassia tora with inhibitory activity on protein glycation and aldose reductaseView study →}

03CYP1A2 Inhibition & ChemopreventionShaky28%Potent selective isolate enzyme inhibition in vitro ^{7Reference 7Park EJ et al. · 2022Potent and selective inhibition of CYP1A2 enzyme by obtusifolin and its chemopreventive effectsView study →}

04Anticancer & Anti-MetastaticShaky26%One isolate mechanistic model (PTHrP / bone metastasis) ^{13Reference 13Hsu YL et al. · 2014Obtusifolin suppresses phthalate esters-induced breast cancer bone metastasis by targeting parathyroid hormone-related proteinView study →}

05Metabolic (PTP1B)Shaky22%Moderate isolate PTP1B inhibition in vitro ^{3Reference 3Jung HA et al. · 2016Promising inhibitory effects of anthraquinones, naphthopyrone, and naphthalene glycosides from Cassia obtusifolia on α-glucosidase and human protein tyrosine phosphatase 1BView study →}

06Cognition & NeuroprotectionShaky18%Whole seed extract, not the isolate ^{5,6Reference 5Yi JH et al. · 2016Cassia obtusifolia seed ameliorates amyloid β-induced synaptic dysfunction through anti-inflammatory and Akt/GSK-3β pathwaysView study →Reference 6Drever BD et al. · 2008AnimalThe seed extract of Cassia obtusifolia offers neuroprotection to mouse hippocampal culturesView study →}

Mechanisms

The load-bearing point is the split: NF-κB anti-inflammation and CYP1A2 inhibition are obtusifolin’s own (isolate) actions, while the aldose-reductase and cognition mechanisms are the seed’s or other anthraquinones’.

Pharmacokinetics

Obtusifolin behaves like its anthraquinone-aglycone relatives — lipophilic, extensively conjugated, and reaching only low plasma levels from oral herb dosing. In a comparative rat study of Semen cassiae, oral obtusifolin from the raw seed peaked at a Cmax of ~99 ng/mL with a rapid Tmax (~0.13–0.23 h) and a mean residence time of ~4–5 h ^{8Reference 8Guo R et al. · 2017AnimalSimultaneous determination of seven anthraquinone aglycones of crude and processed Semen cassiae extracts in rat plasma by UPLC–MS/MS and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic studyView study →}. Traditional stir-frying (“parching”) of the seed roughly doubled systemic exposure (Cmax ~232 ng/mL) and sped absorption — direct evidence that processing changes anthraquinone pharmacokinetics ^{8Reference 8Guo R et al. · 2017AnimalSimultaneous determination of seven anthraquinone aglycones of crude and processed Semen cassiae extracts in rat plasma by UPLC–MS/MS and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic studyView study →}. These are nanogram-per-millilitre levels off whole-seed dosing, consistent with the poor oral bioavailability documented across the anthraquinone aglycones (emodin is the canonical example) and a reason to discount high in-vitro potencies. The stand-out PK-relevant property is not absorption but enzyme inhibition: obtusifolin is a potent CYP1A2 inhibitor, so its most clinically plausible pharmacokinetic footprint is on the clearance of other CYP1A2 substrates rather than on its own exposure ^{7Reference 7Park EJ et al. · 2022Potent and selective inhibition of CYP1A2 enzyme by obtusifolin and its chemopreventive effectsView study →}. No human ADME (Cmax, half-life, oral bioavailability) has been characterised for the isolate.

Clinical Trials

There are no human efficacy trials of isolated obtusifolin. All efficacy data are rodent or in-vitro. Human use is confined to the traditional herb jue ming zi (Cassia/Senna seed), a multi-constituent, laxative-and-tonic preparation whose effects cannot be assigned to obtusifolin ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}. Treat every human-relevant claim as herb-level, not molecule-level.

Last checked: July 2026.

Isolate vs. Plant Studies

Obtusifolin’s file divides almost perfectly down the isolate/plant line, and knowing which side a claim sits on is the whole point.

Tested as the isolate: the anti-inflammatory / NF-κB work is genuinely obtusifolin — purified compound, dosed into osteoarthritis, acute lung injury, pancreatitis and kidney-injury models ^{9,10,11,12Reference 9Nam J et al. · 2021AnimalObtusifolin, an anthraquinone extracted from Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, reduces inflammation in a mouse osteoarthritis modelView study →Reference 10Shaikh TB et al. · 2025Obtusifolin mitigates acute lung injury and improves cardio-pulmonary functions in acute lung injury model by modulating oxidative stress and NF-κB signalingView study →Reference 11Sharma N et al. · 2026Obtusifolin ameliorates pancreatic tissue injury and inflammation by modulating the NFκB signalingView study →Reference 12Xiang H et al. · 2024Obtusifolin inhibits podocyte apoptosis by inactivating NF-κB signaling in acute kidney injuryView study →}; so is the CYP1A2 inhibition (95%-pure obtusifolin) ^{7Reference 7Park EJ et al. · 2022Potent and selective inhibition of CYP1A2 enzyme by obtusifolin and its chemopreventive effectsView study →}, the PTHrP / anti-metastatic study ^{13Reference 13Hsu YL et al. · 2014Obtusifolin suppresses phthalate esters-induced breast cancer bone metastasis by targeting parathyroid hormone-related proteinView study →}, and the anti-glycation, PTP1B and α-glucosidase enzyme assays ^{2,3Reference 2Jang DS et al. · 2007Anthraquinones from the seeds of Cassia tora with inhibitory activity on protein glycation and aldose reductaseView study →Reference 3Jung HA et al. · 2016Promising inhibitory effects of anthraquinones, naphthopyrone, and naphthalene glycosides from Cassia obtusifolia on α-glucosidase and human protein tyrosine phosphatase 1BView study →}. For those, the molecule is the evidence.

Tested as the plant/extract, and only attributed to obtusifolin: the cognition and neuroprotection signal is the whole ethanol seed extract ^{5,6Reference 5Yi JH et al. · 2016Cassia obtusifolia seed ameliorates amyloid β-induced synaptic dysfunction through anti-inflammatory and Akt/GSK-3β pathwaysView study →Reference 6Drever BD et al. · 2008AnimalThe seed extract of Cassia obtusifolia offers neuroprotection to mouse hippocampal culturesView study →}; the cholinesterase/BACE1 inhibitors are other anthraquinones ^{4Reference 4Jung HA et al. · 2016Inhibitory activities of major anthraquinones and other constituents from Cassia obtusifolia against β-secretase and cholinesterasesView study →}; the aldose-reductase activity is sibling anthraquinones (aurantio-obtusin, chryso-obtusin glucoside, emodin), explicitly not obtusifolin ^{2Reference 2Jang DS et al. · 2007Anthraquinones from the seeds of Cassia tora with inhibitory activity on protein glycation and aldose reductaseView study →}; and the hepatoprotective Nrf2/HO-1 activity traces to the seed’s naphthopyrone/anthraquinone glycosides and toralactone derivatives ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}. For those, obtusifolin is a co-traveller, not the driver.

The correct framing, then: obtusifolin is a real anti-inflammatory and CYP1A2-inhibiting molecule in preclinical models, riding inside a seed whose more famous cognition/eye and anti-diabetic reputations are carried by the extract or by its relatives.

Prevalence in Nature

Obtusifolin is a Cassia/Senna-seed anthraquinone — its natural home is the seed of sicklepod, Cassia obtusifolia (Senna obtusifolia) and the closely related Cassia tora (Senna tora), the botanical sources of the crude drug jue ming zi (Cassiae semen) ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}. It occurs alongside a large anthraquinone/naphthopyrone suite — emodin, chrysophanol, physcion, obtusin, aurantio-obtusin, chryso-obtusin, alaternin, questin and aloe-emodin, with naphthopyrone glycosides (rubrofusarin/toralactone types) — and the anthraquinones concentrate in the seed rather than the leaf or stem, which is why the seed is the medicinal part ^{1Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →}.

Like other anthraquinones, obtusifolin exists in the intact seed both free and as a glucoside (gluco-obtusifolin), so the free-aglycone fraction depends on extraction, hydrolysis and traditional processing (raw vs stir-fried), which measurably shifts both content and absorption ^{1,8Reference 1Ali MY et al. · 2021ReviewPhytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive reviewView study →Reference 8Guo R et al. · 2017AnimalSimultaneous determination of seven anthraquinone aglycones of crude and processed Semen cassiae extracts in rat plasma by UPLC–MS/MS and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic studyView study →}. Precise per-seed concentration figures are not well quantified in the sources surveyed here; the occurrence is qualitative — a characteristic, reliably-present Cassia-seed pigment rather than a quantified headline abundance.

Discovery & Synthesis

Obtusifolin takes its name directly from its source, Cassia obtusifolia — the obtuse- (blunt-) leaved sicklepod — and it was characterised as one of the seed anthraquinones during the twentieth-century phytochemical work on Cassia/Senna seeds; a first total synthesis is not well documented in the accessible literature. In practice it is obtained by extraction from Cassia/Senna seed and supplied as an isolated reference standard (CAS 477-85-0; C₁₆H₁₂O₅, MW 284.26) for research, rather than manufactured synthetically at scale. Structurally it is a chrysophanol relative carrying an additional methoxy group — that single substitution (methylation at C-1) is exactly what the enzyme-inhibition work points to when obtusifolin behaves differently from its simpler siblings ^{3Reference 3Jung HA et al. · 2016Promising inhibitory effects of anthraquinones, naphthopyrone, and naphthalene glycosides from Cassia obtusifolia on α-glucosidase and human protein tyrosine phosphatase 1BView study →}.

Patents: not yet researched.

Toxicity & Safety

Obtusifolin carries a moderate flag — not because any isolate-specific toxicity is characterised, but because it is a hydroxyanthraquinone of the anthraquinone-laxative class, and that class carries genotoxicity and stimulant-laxative cautions that have not been cleared for obtusifolin.

The specific safety-relevant finding for the molecule is its potent CYP1A2 inhibition — a real drug-interaction signal in vitro ^{7Reference 7Park EJ et al. · 2022Potent and selective inhibition of CYP1A2 enzyme by obtusifolin and its chemopreventive effectsView study →}. Beyond that, there is no dedicated isolate reproductive-, repeat-dose- or genotoxicity dataset; safety must be read from silence and from the class, not from clean data.

No dedicated reproductive-toxicity study exists for isolated obtusifolin; the stimulant-anthraquinone class is cautioned in pregnancy, and pregnancy/lactation is a per-herb / per-supplement decision made where intake is decided — not adjudicated on this molecule page.

Safety at a Glance

⚠️ Moderate toxicity

• Long traditional dietary use of the source seed. Jue ming zi (Cassia/Senna seed) is consumed as a tea and mild remedy, so background exposure to its anthraquinones is longstanding.
• Hydroxyanthracene-class genotoxicity caution. Obtusifolin belongs to the anthraquinone-laxative family flagged by EFSA/EMA for genotoxicity and safety concern (emodin, aloe-emodin, danthron and the parent extracts); it has not been shown clear of this class liability ^{14Reference 14EFSA ANS Panel · 2018Safety of hydroxyanthracene derivatives for use in foodView study →}.
• Potent CYP1A2 inhibitor. A plausible interaction with CYP1A2 substrates (caffeine, theophylline, some antidepressants and others); demonstrated in vitro, untested clinically ^{7Reference 7Park EJ et al. · 2022Potent and selective inhibition of CYP1A2 enzyme by obtusifolin and its chemopreventive effectsView study →}.
• Stimulant-laxative seed context. Jue ming zi is a mild laxative; chronic anthraquinone-laxative use carries the class cautions (e.g. electrolyte/potassium loss), and pregnancy/lactation is decided at the herb level.
• All data are preclinical isolate/extract work. No human trials; absence of an isolate safety dataset is not evidence of safety.

Dosage

There is no established or safe human dose for isolated obtusifolin, and nothing here is a recommendation. The efficacy figures in the literature are rodent research doses (the anti-inflammatory studies used oral, dose-dependent obtusifolin in mice) and do not convert to human self-dosing ^{9,10,11Reference 9Nam J et al. · 2021AnimalObtusifolin, an anthraquinone extracted from Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, reduces inflammation in a mouse osteoarthritis modelView study →Reference 10Shaikh TB et al. · 2025Obtusifolin mitigates acute lung injury and improves cardio-pulmonary functions in acute lung injury model by modulating oxidative stress and NF-κB signalingView study →Reference 11Sharma N et al. · 2026Obtusifolin ameliorates pancreatic tissue injury and inflammation by modulating the NFκB signalingView study →}. Human exposure is indirect, through jue ming zi (Cassia/Senna seed) preparations dosed at the herb level to their anthraquinone content, not to free obtusifolin — and given the low nanogram-per-millilitre plasma levels reached even from whole-seed dosing, oral obtusifolin does not translate into large systemic exposure ^{8Reference 8Guo R et al. · 2017AnimalSimultaneous determination of seven anthraquinone aglycones of crude and processed Semen cassiae extracts in rat plasma by UPLC–MS/MS and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic studyView study →}. These are research figures and traditional herb-level uses, not a personal recommendation.

References

1. Ali MY, Park S, Chang M (2021). Phytochemistry, ethnopharmacological uses, biological activities, and therapeutic applications of Cassia obtusifolia L.: a comprehensive review. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/34684833/
2. Jang DS, Lee GY, Kim YS, Lee YM, Kim CS, Yoo JL, Kim JS (2007). Anthraquinones from the seeds of Cassia tora with inhibitory activity on protein glycation and aldose reductase. Biological & Pharmaceutical Bulletin. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17978503/
3. Jung HA, Ali MY, Choi JS (2016). Promising inhibitory effects of anthraquinones, naphthopyrone, and naphthalene glycosides from Cassia obtusifolia on α-glucosidase and human protein tyrosine phosphatase 1B. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/28035984/
4. Jung HA, Ali MY, Jung HJ, Jeong HO, Chung HY, Choi JS (2016). Inhibitory activities of major anthraquinones and other constituents from Cassia obtusifolia against β-secretase and cholinesterases. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27321278/
5. Yi JH, Park HJ, Lee S, Jung JW, Kim BC, Lee YC, Ryu JH, Kim DH (2016). Cassia obtusifolia seed ameliorates amyloid β-induced synaptic dysfunction through anti-inflammatory and Akt/GSK-3β pathways. Journal of Ethnopharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/26674159/
6. Drever BD, Anderson WGL, Riedel G, Kim DH, Ryu JH, Choi DY, Platt B (2008). The seed extract of Cassia obtusifolia offers neuroprotection to mouse hippocampal cultures. Journal of Pharmacological Sciences. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/18719316/
7. Park EJ, Park K, Durai P, et al. (2022). Potent and selective inhibition of CYP1A2 enzyme by obtusifolin and its chemopreventive effects. Pharmaceutics. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/36559174/
8. Guo R, Wu H, Yu X, et al. (2017). Simultaneous determination of seven anthraquinone aglycones of crude and processed Semen cassiae extracts in rat plasma by UPLC–MS/MS and its application to a comparative pharmacokinetic study. Molecules. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29143757/
9. Nam J, Seol DW, Lee CG, Wee G, Yang S, Pan CH (2021). Obtusifolin, an anthraquinone extracted from Senna obtusifolia (L.) H.S.Irwin & Barneby, reduces inflammation in a mouse osteoarthritis model. Pharmaceuticals (Basel). https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/33802005/
10. Shaikh TB, Veeram A, Patil RB, Kuncha M, Shenoy R, Andugulapati SB (2025). Obtusifolin mitigates acute lung injury and improves cardio-pulmonary functions in acute lung injury model by modulating oxidative stress and NF-κB signaling. Naunyn-Schmiedeberg’s Archives of Pharmacology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/40493249/
11. Sharma N, Walekar HS, Andugulapati SB (2026). Obtusifolin ameliorates pancreatic tissue injury and inflammation by modulating the NFκB signaling. Journal of Molecular Histology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/41491435/
12. Xiang H, Wu Y, Zhang Y, Hong Y, Xu Y (2024). Obtusifolin inhibits podocyte apoptosis by inactivating NF-κB signaling in acute kidney injury. Cytotechnology. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/39188647/
13. Hsu YL, Hung JY, Tsai YM, et al. (2014). Obtusifolin suppresses phthalate esters-induced breast cancer bone metastasis by targeting parathyroid hormone-related protein. Journal of Agricultural and Food Chemistry. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25415928/
14. EFSA ANS Panel (2018). Safety of hydroxyanthracene derivatives for use in food. EFSA Journal. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32625659/

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