Chemical Constituents of Hernandiaceae Plants and Their Biological Activities

The Hernandiaceae family is a resource plant group with great medicinal and economic value that consists of 70 plant species in 4 genera. In recent years, more than 270 natural products with various structures and significant biological activities, including mainly alkaloids, lignans, terpenes, and butyrolactones, have been reported from the Hernandiaceae family. In terms of the number of compounds and their distribution, aporphine-type alkaloids can be considered characteristic components of Hernandiaceae plants. In addition to aporphines, arylnaphthalene and dibenzylbutane lignans are characteristic components of Hernandia plants, whereas menthane monoterpenes and their dimers are characteristic components of Illigera. The natural products in Hernandiaceae plants have antitumor, anti-inflammatory, antiplatelet aggregation, and antimalarial activities and can serve as substantial resource banks for drug screening and discovery. This article is the first to review the structural characteristics and biological activities of the chemical components of Hernandiaceae plants and provides a reference for the efficient use of the resources of this plant family.