The genus Croton belongs to the Euphorbiaceae family, which comprises approximately 1300 species. Many Croton species have been used as folk medicines. This review focuses on the chemical constituents from Croton species and their relevant biological activities, covering the period from 2006 to 2018. A total of 399 new compounds, including 339 diterpenoids, were reported. Diterpenoids are characteristic components of the Croton species. These isolated compounds exhibited a broad spectrum of bioactivities, including cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, antifungal, acetylcholinesterase inhibitory, and neurite outgrowth-promoting properties. The present review provides a significant clue for further research of the chemical constituents from the Croton species as potential medicines.

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/23/9/2333/pdf

Chemical Constituents from Croton Species and Their Biological Activities

Among flavonoid derivatives, tiliroside is a flavonoid contained in several edible plants or specific plant parts (fruits, leaves, or roots). These parts are often widely used as both food and medicines, in the treatment of various ailments and, in some cases, as food supplements. Considering the easy access to many publications concerning tiliroside and the lack of a review that summarizes the current progress in studies on its safety, efficacy, and presence in the plant kingdom, we present here a review paper on tiliroside and its principal derivatives. The paper also highlights the basic knowledge regarding this molecule, its derivatives, and the analytical approaches used for extraction and quantification, as well as reports on the biological activities against different key enzymes linked to various human diseases. The reported information is also devoted to highlighting the concept "learn from nature to discover new products," particularly in the development of new drugs, food supplements, and nutraceuticals, starting from a natural lead compound such as tiliroside and improving its biological activities (and selectivities) against a specific target for therapeutic purposes.

https://onlinelibrary.wiley.com/doi/pdf/10.1111/1541-4337.12389

A Review on the Dietary Flavonoid Tiliroside.

A comparative evaluation of the antioxidant and acetylcholinesterase inhibitory activity of the leaf extracts of Croton gratissimus and Croton zambesicus (subgratissimus) and compounds isolated from the extracts was carried out to determine their potential and suitability or otherwise as a substitute for each other in the management of oxidative and neurodegenerative conditions Different antioxidant assays (DPPH, FRAP, β-carotene-linoleic and the lipid peroxidation models) and the microplate assay for acetylcholinesterase (AChE) inhibition were carried out separately to study the activities of the crude leaf extracts and four solvent fractions from each of the two Croton species Bioassay guided fractionation was used to target antioxidant constituents of the crude extracts and ethyl acetate fractions of 20% aqueous methanol extract of C gratissimus on silica gel and Sephadex LH-20 columns resulted in the isolation of kaempferol-3-O-β-6''(p-coumaroyl) glucopyranoside (tiliroside, 2), apigenin-6-C-glucoside (isovitexin, 3) and kampferol (4) The extract of C zambesicus yielded quercetin-3-O-β-6''(p-coumaroyl) glucopyranoside-3'-methyl ether (helichrysoside- 3'-methyl ether, 1), kaempferol-3-O-β-6''(p-coumaroyl) glucopyranoside (tiliroside, 2) and apigenin-6-C-glucoside (isovitexin, 3) Three of the isolated compounds and their different combinations were also included in the bioassays In all the assays performed, the antioxidant capacity and AChE inhibitory effects of C zambesicus extracts were weaker than those of C gratissimus This suggests that C gratissimus may not be substituted by C zambesicus, despite the similarity in some of their constituents Generally, the combinations made from the isolated compounds showed better activities in most of the assays compared to the individual isolated compounds This suggests mechanisms such as synergism and/or additive effects to be taking place This study established low, moderate and high antioxidant activities as well as AChE inhibitory effects by the crude extracts, fractions, compounds and compound combinations This means some of the extracts, isolated compounds and compound combinations could be useful in the management of neurodegenerative conditions and serve as sources of natural neurodegenerative agents

https://www.mdpi.com/1420-3049/18/2/1916/pdf

Anti-Oxidative and Cholinesterase Inhibitory Effects of Leaf Extracts and Their Isolated Compounds from Two Closely Related Croton Species

Sudan folklore medicine is characterized by a unique combination of Islamic, Arabic, and African cultures. In poor communities, traditional medicine has remained as the most reasonable source of treatment of several diseases and microbial infections. Although the traditional medicine is accepted in Sudan, to date there is no updated review available, which focuses on most effective and frequently used Sudanese medicinal plants. Thus, this review aims to summarize the published information on the ethnobotanical uses of medicinal plants from Sudan, preparation methods, phytochemistry, and ethnopharmacology. The collected data demonstrate that Sudanese medicinal plants have been reported to possess a wide range of traditional medicinal uses including different microbial infections, gastrointestinal disorders, malaria, diabetes, rheumatic pain, respiratory system disorders, jaundice, urinary system inflammations, wounds, cancer, and different microbial infections. In most cases, the pharmacological studies were in agreement with traditional uses. Moreover, several bioactive compounds such as flavonoids, saponins, alkaloids, steroids, terpenes, tannins, fatty acids, and essential oils have been identified as active constituents. Although this review demonstrates the importance of ethnomedicine medicines in the treatment of several diseases in Sudan, further researches to validate the therapeutic uses and safety of these plants through phytochemical screening, different biological activity assays, and toxicological studies are still needed.

M Bezabih

Papers

Isolation and characterisation of novel antioxidant constituents of Croton zambesicus leaf extract.