Chapter 7 - Tabernaemontana Species: Promising Sources of New Useful Drugs

Abstract

Abstract The family Apocynaceae comprises about 3700 species in 424 genera distributed throughout the tropical and some subtropical regions, mainly over America, Africa, and Asia. Apocynaceae is characterized by the presence of indole alkaloids, usually biologically active, and Tabernaemontana species are notable for producing a wide variety of these compounds. More than one hundred structurally different alkaloids have been found from some species, which can be found from the flowers to the roots. However, terpene lactones, steroids, and flavonoids also can be found. Although Tabernaemontana genus has been studied in a phytochemical approach, several species remain without chemical or biological evaluation. Because some of them are endemic, efforts should be made to improve knowledge of their chemical composition and pharmacological potential. Therefore, this report covers the chemistry and the biological activity of the genus Tabernaemontana, Apocynaceae. Van Beek and his coworkers (1984) published a long review about Tabernaemontana chemistry, but since then with analytical advances, knowledge about the chemical composition and the pharmacological potential of this genus has increased.