Romanian Society of Pharmaceutical Sciences

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CHEMICAL AND BIOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF ALOPECURONE COMPOUNDS: A REVIEW

HAMID AHMADPOURMIR 1, SEYEDEH FAEZEH TAGHIZADEH 2, MAHIN VELAYATI 2 , MARINA-IONELA NEDEA 3, RAMIN REZAEE 2*

1 Medical Toxicology Research Center, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
2 Applied Biomedical Research Center, Basic Sciences Research Institute, Mashhad University of Medical Sciences, Mashhad, Iran
3 Department of General and Pharmaceutical Microbiology, Faculty of Pharmacy, “Carol Davila” University of Medicine and Pharmacy, 020956, Bucharest, Romania

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Alopecurones represent a small and under-explored group of prenylated flavonoids and flavonostilbenes with diverse bioactivities. This review consolidates, for the first time, all published information on the discovery, structural characterisation, natural distribution, and biological actions of alopecurone compounds. The scientific databases Scopus and PubMed were systematically searched to retrieve reports on characterisation and isolation of the members of this family and studies on their biological properties. Based on the available evidence, 16 alopecurone compounds have been isolated from members of the genus Sophora which is regarded as the richest natural source of this chemical family. The included studies mainly showed antimicrobial, antiviral, anti-cancer and anti-inflammatory properties of these compounds in vitro.