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Phytochemical and Pharmacological Studies of the Genus Tacca: A Review


J Jiang
H Yang
Y Wang
Y Chen

Abstract

Tacca is an important genus comprising of approximately 15 species of the medicinal plants (Taccaceae). The plants are used in traditional medicine to relieve pains of the body and stomach, as an antidote for food  poisoning as well as for their analgesic, antipyretic and anti-inflammatory activities. Chemical studies have underlined more than 120 constituents have been isolated from Tacca, including steroidals, diarylheptanoids, phenolics,  flavonoids, sesquitepenoids, triterpenoids and starch. Steroidals and diarylheptanoids showed potent bioactivities, such as cytotoxic, microtubule-stabilizing, NF-kB activation and PPAR transcriptional and insecticidal activities. The starch from T. leontopetaloides and T. involucrata have high amylase content and showed potential use in food and drug system.

Keywords: Tacca, Taccalonolides, Tacca starch, Microtubule-stabilizer, Anti-cancer


Journal Identifiers


eISSN: 1596-9827
print ISSN: 1596-5996