Recent Research Progress on Natural Stilbenes in <i>Dendrobium</i> Species
Denghui Zhai,
Xiaofa Lv,
Jingmei Chen,
Minwen Peng,
Jinyan Cai
Affiliations
Denghui Zhai
Key Laboratory of Glucolipid Metabolic Disorder of Ministry of Education of China, Key Unit of Modulating Liver to Treat Hyperlipemia SATCM, Guangdong Metabolic Disease Research Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Xiaofa Lv
Key Laboratory of Glucolipid Metabolic Disorder of Ministry of Education of China, Key Unit of Modulating Liver to Treat Hyperlipemia SATCM, Guangdong Metabolic Disease Research Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jingmei Chen
Key Laboratory of Glucolipid Metabolic Disorder of Ministry of Education of China, Key Unit of Modulating Liver to Treat Hyperlipemia SATCM, Guangdong Metabolic Disease Research Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Minwen Peng
Key Laboratory of Glucolipid Metabolic Disorder of Ministry of Education of China, Key Unit of Modulating Liver to Treat Hyperlipemia SATCM, Guangdong Metabolic Disease Research Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Jinyan Cai
Key Laboratory of Glucolipid Metabolic Disorder of Ministry of Education of China, Key Unit of Modulating Liver to Treat Hyperlipemia SATCM, Guangdong Metabolic Disease Research Center of Integrated Chinese and Western Medicine, Guangdong Pharmaceutical University, Guangzhou 510006, China
Dendrobium is the second biggest genus in the Orchidaceae family, and many of them have been utilized as a traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) for thousands of years in China. In the last few decades, constituents with great chemical diversity were isolated from Dendrobium, and a wide range of biological activities were detected, either for crude extracts or for pure compounds. Stilbene compound is one of the primary active constituents in the genus Dendrobium. At present, 267 stilbene compounds with clarified molecular structures have been extracted and isolated from 52 species of Dendrobium, including 124 phenanthrenes and 143 bibenzyls. At the same time, activity studies have indicated that 157 compounds have pharmaceutical activity. Among them, most of the compounds showed antitumor activity, followed by antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and anti-α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Additionally, 54 compounds have multiple pharmacological activities, such as confusarin (14), 2,4,7-trihydroxy-9,10-dihydro-phenanthrene (43), moscatilin (148), gigantol (150) and batatasin III (151). This review summarizes current knowledge about the chemical composition of stilbene, bioactivities and pharmacologic effects in 52 species of Dendrobium. We also expect to provide a reference for further research, development and utilization of stilbene constituents in the Dendrobium genus.