Abstract
The genus Alnus (Betulaceae) is comprised of more than 40 species. Many species of this genus have a long history of use in folk medicines. Phytochemical investigations have revealed the presence of diarylheptanoids, polyphenols, flavonoids, terpenoids, steroids and other compounds. Diarylheptanoids, natural products with a 1,7-diphenylheptane structural skeleton, are the dominant constituents in the genus, whose anticancer effect has been brought into focus. Pure compounds and crude extracts from the genus exhibit a wide spectrum of pharmacological activities both in vitro and in vivo. This paper compiles 273 naturally occurring compounds from the genus Alnus along with their structures and pharmacological activities, as reported in 138 references.
Highlights
Alnus is a genus in the family Betulaceae, which comprises more than 40 species mainly distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America
Diarylheptanoids and phenolic glycosides isolated from A. japonica, A. hirsuta, A. firma, A. formosana, A. nitida, A. nepalensis and A. acuminata showed significant anti-inflammatory effect [33,41,57,70,99,121,122]
This article summarized a total of 273 compounds that have been reported from the genus Alnus, with 138 cited references
Summary
Alnus is a genus in the family Betulaceae, which comprises more than 40 species mainly distributed in Asia, Africa, Europe and North America. Diarylheptanoids comprise a class of natural products formed from 1,7-diphenylheptane, which appears in linear and cyclic forms [9] They have been regarded as the primary bioactive compounds of Alnus and have drawn attention due to their physiological activities, especially their anticancer and antioxidative activities [10,11]. Diarylheptanoids with strong antioxidative activity isolated from A. japonica and A. hirsuta showed significant hepatoprotective effects on t-butyl hydroperoxide (t-BHP)-induced toxicity in primary rat hepatocytes and a human hepatoma cell line (HepG2), respectively [3,16]. Sati et al have summarized 192 chemical constituents and biological activities of genus Alnus [2]. We mainly summarized 273 chemical constituents and biological activities of the genus Alnus, based on 138 cited references. It is hoped that the information presented in this paper will be useful for further research and the application of this genus
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