Rhodiola kirilowii, a member of Crassulaceae family, grows wildly in Asiatic mountains and is also cultivated in some European countries. Its underground parts traditionally are used for enhance physical and mental performance of the body. In our previous papers we reported immuno- and angio-modulatory effects of aqueous and hydro-alcoholic extracts of radix and rhizome of this plant in mice. I...

Kalanchoe daigremontiana (Crassulaceae) is a medicinal plant native to Madagascar. The aim of this study was to investigate the flavonoid content of an aqueous leaf extract from K. daigremontiana (Kd), and assess its antiherpetic potential. The major flavonoid, kaempferol 3-O-β-d-xylopyranosyl-(1 → 2)-α-l-rhamnopyranoside (1), was isolated from the AcOEt fraction (Kd-AC). The BuOH-soluble fract...

Rhodiola rosea L. (Crassulaceae) have been used as traditional medicines that can increase someone’s physical strength, work productivity, longevity and resistance to high altitude sickness, fatigue, depression, anaemia, gastrointestinal ailments, infections, and nervous system disorders. The objective of this study was to evaluate the anti-inflammatory and analgesic activities from the methano...

Superoxide dismutase (SOD) is a very important reactive oxygen species (ROS)-scavenging enzyme. In this study, the functions of a Cu/Zn SOD gene (SaCu/Zn SOD), from Sedum alfredii, a cadmium (Cd)/zinc/lead co-hyperaccumulator of the Crassulaceae, was characterized. The expression of SaCu/Zn SOD was induced by Cd stress. Compared with wild-type (WT) plants, overexpression of SaCu/Zn SOD gene in ...

Climate change during the Quaternary played an important role in the differentiation and evolution of plants. A prevailing hypothesis is that alpine and arctic species survived glacial periods in refugia at the periphery of glaciers. Though the Rocky Mountains, south of the southernmost extent of continental ice, served as an important glacial refuge, little is known about how climate cycles in...