Abstract: Aralia elata is a perennial woody plant which belongs to the Araliaceae. It is distributed widely in the Northeast of China and has great medicinal and edible values. It is also considered as an economic plant. In recent years, understory forest economy represented by growing woody plants as vegetables has become one of the important models of contemporary forestry development. A. elata was given extensive attention because of its high nutritional and pharmacological values. However, its chemical composition and pharmacological activity are still unclear. Meanwhile, serious destruction of A. elata resources due to over harvesting, it is very important to explore high-efficiency reproduction and cultivation techniques. This paper tries to review progresses in reproduction and cultivation techniques, chemical composition and pharmacological activity of A. elata in order to provide a scientific basis for the exploitation and development of A. elata resources. Current status and development trends of A. elata were reviewed in terms of reproduction and cultivation techniques, chemical composition and pharmacological activity. The reproduction model of A. elata can be divided into two types, respectively seed propagation and asexual reproduction. In general, stratification treatment is needed before seed sowing due to the deep dormancy of A. elata. In addition, gibberellins application and high-low changing temperature pregermination can also improve the germination of this species to some extent. Root segment propagation is the main reproduction method of A. elata. Root length had a significant effect on the rooting rate and seedling growth, but root diameter had no significant effect. A. elata seedlings need semi-shade, but mature plants require full sunlight condition. A. elata contains many useful chemical components for human, and many previous studies concerned saponins and polysaccharides. Since the first saponin from root bark of A. elata was isolated, people constantly got new saponin isolated from various organs of A. elata, and also found that the highest saponin content was in the root bark. However, people paid less attention to other chemical components such as volatile oil, vitamins and trace elements, which need further studies. Most studies on pharmacologically active A. elata were focused on the antitumor activity of saponins, and the antitumor mechanisms were also clear, such as inhibited the tumor cell division, proliferation or induced the apoptosis. Different mechanisms also existed among different types of tumors. In addition, the polysaccharides and protein in A. elata plant also had some anti-tumor activity, which needs further research. Future researches should be focused on how to use molecular biology methods to clarify the mechanism of seed dormancy, the synthetic pathways of important active substances and the antitumor mechanism. In addition, metabonomics and fingerprint technologies are also important for evaluation and identification of A. elata resources.

Key words: Aralia elata, understory forest economy, oleanolic acid, saponin, polysaccharide, inhibit tumor