Bioactive Secondary Metabolites from Orchids (Orchidaceae).

Abstract

The Orchidaceae family is the largest group of flowering plants in the Angiosperm monocotyledons spread on our planet. Its members, called orchids, are herbs or epiphytes with showy flowers distributed mainly in tropical regions. Several classes of phytoconstituents have been so far isolated from therapeutically-used orchids showing a great chemical diversity. Among them, phenolic derivatives have been studied for their biological activities, especially in the field of cancer, inflammation, and neurodegeneration. On the other hand, limited information has been so far obtained on the numerous alkaloids and terpenoids isolated from several orchid species. Recent articles revealed pronounced effects of some alkaloids on the CNS. Published literature on orchids that are used in traditional medicine has been reviewed in this work indicating a great potential of such organisms as source of chemical entities for the development of new drugs.

• Authors: Stefania Sut, Filippo Maggi, Stefano Dall'Acqua
• Journal: Chemistry & biodiversity (Chem Biodivers) Vol. 14 Issue 11 (Nov 2017) ISSN: 1612-1880 [Electronic] Switzerland
• PMID: 28771984 (Publication Type: Journal Article, Review)
• Copyright: © 2017 Wiley-VHCA AG, Zurich, Switzerland.

Chemical References

• Anti-Inflammatory Agents
• Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic
• Plant Extracts

Topics

• Animals
• Anti-Inflammatory Agents (chemistry, isolation & purification, pharmacology)
• Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic (chemistry, isolation & purification, toxicity)
• Drug Discovery (trends)
• Humans
• Macrophages (drug effects, metabolism)
• Orchidaceae (chemistry, metabolism)
• Plant Extracts (chemistry, isolation & purification, metabolism, pharmacology)