Constituents from Chloranthaceae plants and their biological activities

The Chloranthaceae is a small family with only four genera (Ascarina, Chloranthus, Hedyosmum, Sarcandra), of which nearly 70 species are distributed around the world. Chemical constituents in Chloranthaceae plants, especially sesquiterpenes, have attracted a great deal of attention in recent 5 years. Many characteristic constituents of this family may be responsible for anti-microbial, anti-tumor and other activities. In order to provide information for the future research, the structures and biological activities of the known constituents from the plants of Chloranthaceae have been reviewed in this article.