Abstract: Millettia speciosa Champ. is a plant of the Millettia genus belonging to the Leguminosae family. This plant is widely cultivated in the south of China as a source of both food and medicine. Millettia speciosa has antibacterial and antioxidant effects. In addition, it is clinically confirmed to have therapeutic effects on lumber muscle strain, rheummatic arthritis, pulmonary tuberculosis, chronic bronchitis, chronic hepatitis, spermatorrhea, leukorrhagia, nephritis and other chronic ailments. The typical bioactive components of Millettia speciosa are formononetin and maackiain. Up to date, more than 50 compounds including alkaloids, terpenoids, flavones, phenylpropanoids, volatile oil and phytosterol have been isolated from Millettia speciosa. However, there is currently little published information on the toxicology of Millettia speciosa. With this in mind, this article presents an elaborate review of the traditional medicinal applications, chemical and nutritional constituents, pharmacological and toxicological activities of Millettia speciosa with the aim to provide a theoretic guideline for further studies on this plant.

Key words: Millettia speciosa, botanical characteristics, pharmacological activity, nutritional composition, toxicology, chemical components