ABSTRACT
The chemical constituents of plants from the genus Sorbus are mainly flavonoids,biphenyls,terpenoids and organic acids.Pharmacological researches proved that the chemical components isolated from Sorbus plants has antitussive,relieving asthma,antibacterial and antioxidant effect.Moreover,the Sorbus plants were used as landscape trees.There is a bright developing prospect about Sorbus plants.In this review,we give an overview of the significant progress and the latest findings made in Sorbus plants,such as the stress response,chemical compositions,pharmacological activities and the propagation technology.The results including as following:①more evidences are needed for species identification of Sorbus,②the researches about Sorbus plants is focused on only a few species(S. alnifolia,S. amabilis,S. pohuashanensis,S. tianschanica,S. aucuparin),③the existing researches centre upon chemical composition analysis and propagation and cultivation;the formation and mechanism of active components are rarely reported.Thus,the research of Sorbus plants is still in the early period,and this review paper will provide theoretical basis and reference for further research of Sorbus plants.