Lycopodium japonicum: A comprehensive review on its phytochemicals and biological activities
Yegao Chen, Qian Yang, Yan Zhang
Abstract
Lycopodium japonicum Thunb (Lycopodiaceae) is a common and abundant plant widely distributed in China, Japan and countries of Southern Asia and used in traditional Chinese medicine for the treatment of sprains, strains and myasthenia. This review focuses on the phytochemicals and biological actions, with the objective of stimulating further studies on the plant. 132 chemical compounds have been identified and isolated from this plant, and the most important are alkaloids and serratane triterpenoids. The isolated compounds of L. japonicum were shown to possess acetylcholinesterase inhibitory, cytotoxic, anti-inflammatory, anti-HIV-1 and α-glucosidase inhibitory activities. Further studies should be carried out on this plant in order to disclose many more active principles and mechanisms of active components.