title: Anemonemedicinal plants: ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and biology.
abstract: The Ranunculaceae genusAnemone(order Ranunculales), comprising more than 150 species, mostly herbs, has long been used in folk medicine and worldwide ethnomedicine. Various medicinal compounds have been found inAnemoneplants, especially triterpenoid saponins, some of which have shown anti-cancer activities. SomeAnemonecompounds and extracts display immunomodulatory, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, and antimicrobial activities. More than 50 species have ethnopharmacological uses, which provide clues for modern drug discovery.Anemonecompounds exert anticancer and other bioactivitiesviamultiple pathways. However, a comprehensive review of theAnemonemedicinal resources is lacking. We here summarize the ethnomedical knowledge and recent progress on the chemical and pharmacological diversity ofAnemonemedicinal plants, as well as the emerging molecular mechanisms and functions of these medicinal compounds. The phylogenetic relationships ofAnemonespecies were reconstructed based on nuclear ITS and chloroplast markers. The molecular phylogeny is largely congruent with the morphology-based classification. Commonly used medicinal herbs are distributed in each subgenus and section, and chemical and biological studies of more unexplored taxa are warranted. Gene expression profiling and relevant "omics" platforms could reveal differential effects of phytometabolites. Genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics should be highlighted in deciphering novel therapeutic mechanisms and utilities ofAnemonephytometabolites.
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Institute, School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Jiaotong University, Dalian 116028, China.
authors.forename: Da-Cheng
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Hao
authors.affiliation: Biotechnology Institute, School of Environment and Chemical Engineering, Dalian Jiaotong University, Dalian 116028, China.
authors.forename: Xiaojie
authors.initials: X
authors.lastname: Gu
authors.affiliation: Institute of Medicinal Plant Development, Chinese Academy of Medical Sciences, Beijing 100193, China.
authors.forename: Peigen
authors.initials: P
authors.lastname: Xiao
keywords: Anemone; Bioactivity; Chemodiversity; Ethnomedicine; Molecular mechanism; Pharmacophylogeny