Research progress on chemical constituents of plants from Mallotus Lour. and their pharmacological activities / 中草药

ABSTRACT

The genus Mallotus Lour. (Euphorbiaceae) consists of 140 species distributed in tropical and subtropical regines of Asia, 25 species and 11 varieties of which can be found in southern of China. Some species of the genus have been used in traditional medicine. Phytochemical studies on the plants in the genus have demonstrated the presence of large number of diterpenoids, triterpenoids, polyphenols, and tannins, along with some monoterpene, benzopyran, coumarin-lignin, diaryl heptane, flavonoids, alkaloids, coumarin, etc. Furthermore, many pharmacological activities of the plants in the genus, such as anti-atherosclerosis, choleretic, hepatoprotective, antioxidant, analgesic, immunity improvement, and memory enhancing activities have been reported. In this article, new development of constituents and biological activities of plants in Mallotus Lour. since 1988 were reviewed and summarized for providing a reference for the further study, exploitation, and utilization of this resource.