Chapter 8 - Biodiversity, Chemodiversity, and Pharmacotherapy of Anemone Medicinal Plants

Abstract

The Ranunculaceae genus Anemone (order Ranunculales), comprising more than 150 species, mostly herbs, has long been used in folk medicine and worldwide ethnomedicine. Various medicinal compounds, especially triterpenoid saponins, have been found in Anemone plants, some of which have shown anticancer activities. Some Anemone compounds and extracts display immunomodulatory, antiinflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. More than 50 species have ethnopharmacological uses, which provide clues for modern drug discovery. Anemone compounds exert anticancer and other bioactivities via multiple pathways. However, a comprehensive review of Anemone medicinal resources is lacking. Here we summarize the ethnomedicine knowledge and the recent progress of chemodiversity and pharmacological diversity of Anemone medicinal plants, as well as the emerging molecular machineries and functions of medicinal compounds. The phylogenetic relationship of Anemone species is reconstructed based on nuclear internal transcribed spacer (ITS) and chloroplast markers. The molecular phylogeny is largely congruent with morphology-based classification. Commonly used medicinal herbs are distributed in each subgenus and section, and chemical and biological studies of more unexplored taxa are warranted. Gene expression profiling and relevant omics platforms could reveal differential effects of phytometabolites. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics should be highlighted in deciphering novel therapeutic mechanisms and utilities of Anemone phytometabolites.