Abstract: Poria cocos is an important functional material used for both food and medicinal purposes and has many clinical effects such as inducing diuresis, excreting dampness, strengthening the spleen and tranquilizing the heart. Apart from polysaccharides, triterpenoids are also important functional components in P. cocos, and pachymic acid is a typical representative of the triterpenoids in P. cocos. Pachymic acid belongs to the family of lanosta-8-enetype triterpenes, and its purified product is a white powder, which has anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, anti-oxidation, sedative and hypnotic effects. At present, as the food and medicinal values of P. cocos have attracted increasing interest, its pachymic acid has been widely and deeply studied. Based on a review of the literature on pachymic acid over the past two decades, this article comprehensively and systematically summarizes recent progress in the extraction and detection of pachymic acid and its pharmacological activity and biosynthesis as well as the application of P. cocos for health promotion, aiming to provide a scientific basis for the basic and applied studies of pachymic acid in the fields of food and medicine in the future.

Key words: pachymic acid; Poria cocos; extraction; detection; pharmacological activity; biosynthesis