Nucleic acids in medicinal plants and their pharmaceutical potential

Medicinal plants, as a core constituent of traditional medicine, provide an essential foundation for preventing and treating human diseases. Research on their pharmacologically active constituents has long focused on secondary metabolites, including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavonoids, and other compounds. However, with the rapid advancement of molecular biology techniques, nucleic acids have gradually become a research focus as a novel class of active components in medicinal plants that possess both nutritional and regulatory functions. This paper systematically reviews the types, characteristics, extraction techniques, pharmacological actions, and mechanisms of nucleic acids (including coding and non-coding RNAs) in medicinal plants. It also discusses current challenges and future directions for medicinal plant-derived nucleic acids in new drug development, providing a theoretical reference and technical basis for in-depth research and industrial application in this field.