ABSTRACT
Litsea glutinosa, belonging to family Lauraceae, is widely distributed in subtropical and tropical regions. L. glutinosa was used to cure many diseases as folk medicine in China. It has proved that the plant showed anti-diabetic, anti-inflammatory, and anti-bacterial activities. So far, more than 50 compounds including flavonoids, alkaloids, and lignans have been isolated from this plant. Alkaloids were deemed as its characteristic constituents. This review summarized the biological activities and chemical constituents of L. glutinosa for the first time. Based on these collected information, we pointed out that little information was found related to the potential mechanism of the biological effects. Moreover, there were few reports regarding the biological evaluation of the isolated compounds. As the development of new technique in isolation and biochemistry, close attention should be paid to biological evaluation and potential mechanism.