Eudesmane Sesquiterpene Lactones of the Genus Inula and Their Biological Activity

Abstract

Sesquiterpene lactones (SL) are widely distributed in nature (formed biosynthetically in plants from farnesyl pyrophosphate) and are a structurally diverse class of terpenoids with 15 carbon atoms in the skeleton and, in addition to the lactone cycle, can contain various functional groups. Some of them exhibit biological activity both in a rather wide range and in relation to a specific target. An increase in the number of undescribed natural plant compounds of this class, as well as detection in various plant species, opens up new possibilities for their use for the purposes of medical chemistry, phytochemistry, pharmacognosy, chemotaxonomy, and related fields. Using the example of SL of the eudesmane structural type found in plants of the genus Inula, this review attempts to show the relevance of studies of such compounds that investigate the mechanism of action on various biological models, including the goal of developing new effective antitumor agents.