Abstract
The constituents of Cimicifuga plants have been extensively investigated, and the principal metabolites are 9,19-cyclolanostane triterpenoid glycosides, which are distributed widely in Cimicifuga plants, but not in other members of the Ranunculaceae family, and are considered to be characteristics of the Cimicifuga genus. This type of triterpenoid glycoside possesses several important biological activities. More than 120 cycloartane triterpene glycosides have been isolated from Cimicifuga simplex Wormsk. The aim of this review article is to summarize all the major findings based on the available scientific literatures on C. simplex, with a focus on the identified 9,19-cyclolanostane triterpenoid glycosides. Biological studies of cycloartane triterpene glycosides from Cimicifuga spp. are also discussed.
Key words: Cimicifuga simplex, Ranunculaceae, Cycloartenol triterpenoid saponins, Biological effects
Footnotes
Available online 20 Feb. 2015
[Research funding] This work was supported by the Fund of Education Department of Heilongjiang Province(No. 201207).
These authors have no any conflict of interest to declare.
Contributor Information
Yang SU, Email: suyanggo@163.com.
Hai-Xue KUANG, Email: hxkuang@hotmail.com.
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