Acanthus ilicifolius L. (Acanthaceae) is a spiny herb of mangrove widely distributed in southeastern Asia. In traditional Chinese medicine, it is used as an anti-inflammatory and anti-hepatitis agent. Previous pharmaceutical studies on this plant revealed that the crude alcoholic extract of its leaves showed antioxidant, hepatoprotective, antitumour and anticarcinogenic effects [1 – 2]. The con...

This review summarizes the current knowledge on pinguisane-type sesquiterpenoids, unique secondary metabolites of Hepaticae, their isolation, structural elucidation, possible biosynthetic pathways, total synthesis, and biological/pharmacological activities. Overall, 76 compounds are presented, majority which isolated from or detected in liverwort material as metabolites, while 4 represent artif...