Chemical Constituents and Biological Activity Profiles on Pleione (Orchidaceae)

Abstract

Pleione (Orchidaceae) is not only famous for the ornamental value in Europe because of its special color, but also endemic in Southern Asia for its use in traditional medicine. A great deal of research about its secondary metabolites and biological activities has been done on only three of 30 species of Pleione. Up to now, 183 chemical compounds, such as phenanthrenes, bibenzyls, glucosyloxybenzyl succinate derivatives, flavonoids, lignans, terpenoids, etc., have been obtained from Pleione. These compounds have been demonstrated to play a significant role in anti-tumor, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory biological activities and improve immunity. In order to further develop the drugs and utilize the plants, the chemical structural analysis and biological activities of Pleione are summarized in this review.

Chemical Constituents of Species in the Genus Pleione (Orchidaceae) and the Implications from Molecular Phylogeny

“…The chemical difference reflected by HPLC fingerprints can only be a result of genetic difference of these studied species. Various chemical compounds, such as phenanthrenes, bibenzyls, glucosyloxybenzyl succinate derivatives and flavonoids, have been found in pseudobulbs of previous studied Pleione species [9] . Dactylorhin A and militarine characterized in our study were demonstrated to have the effects of neuroprotection and cognitive impairment [21–23] .…”

“…Various chemical compounds, such as phenanthrenes, bibenzyls, glucosyloxybenzyl succinate derivatives and flavonoids, have been found in pseudobulbs of previous studied Pleione species. [9] Dactylorhin A and militarine characterized in our study were demonstrated to have the effects of neuroprotection and cognitive impairment. [21 -23] The determination of these two compounds therefore can be used for the quality control of P. bulbocodioides and P. yunnanensis.…”

“…[7,8] More than 180 highly diverse compounds, including phenanthrenes, bibenzyls, glucosyloxybenzyl suc-cinate derivatives and flavonoids, have been isolated from pseudobulbs of Pleione, and these compounds have been demonstrated to play a significant role in antitumor, anti-neurodegenerative and anti-inflammatory biological activities and improving immunity. [9] However, previous chemical investigations of the genus Pleione are restricted to only a few species (mainly P. bulbocodioides, P. yunnanensis and P. formosana Hayata), [9] and there are still large proportion of species in the genus that remains unexplored. The Hengduan Mountains Region of southwest China has the highest species diversity of Pleione, where several species have overlapping geographical distributions.…”

Lignans and Their Derivatives from Plants as Antivirals

“…Plants, such as the Lauraceae family, especially the genera of Machilus, Ocotea, and Nectandra are rich sources of lignans. Additionally, Annonaceae, Orchidaceae, Berberidaceae, and Schisandraceae family contain a large number of constituents of lignans and neolignans [3][4][5]. Up to date, lignans are found in over 70 families in plant kingdom, and more than 200 classical lignans and 100 neolignans have been characterized [6].…”

Xylochemical Synthesis and Biological Evaluation of Shancigusin C and Bletistrin G

“…Plants from the orchid family have been widely used in the traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) and oriental folk medicines to treat tumors, burns, frostbite, coughs, tuberculosis, bronchitis and gastrointestinal bleeding, as well as to remove “heat and toxin” [ 1 ]. According to previous reports, extracts from a variety of different terrestrial orchids contain remarkable amounts of stilbenes and dihydrostilbenes, such as dihydro-resveratrol ( 3 ), moscatilin ( 4 ), resveratrol ( 5 ) and combretastatin A-4 ( 6 ) [ 2 , 3 , 4 , 5 , 6 , 7 , 8 ], which are known to exhibit antineoplastic, antimitotic and anticarcinogenic properties as well as inhibit oxidative stress ( Figure 1 ) [ 9 , 10 , 11 , 12 , 13 , 14 , 15 , 16 , 17 , 18 , 19 , 20 , 21 ]. The structurally unprecedented dihydrostilbenes shancigusin C ( 1 ) and bletistrin G ( 2 ), both featuring 4-hydroxybenzyl substituents, were isolated from the orchidaceous species Pleione yunnanensis and Bletilla striata in 2009 and 2019, respectively [ 6 , 7 ].…”