Furofuran lignans of Artemisia genus: Isolation, biosynthesis and biological activity

Since ancient times, medicinal plants and pharmacologically active products obtained from different natural sources play an important role in human health. Plants belonging to the genus Artemisia possess a great biological potential and it is a well-studied genus in the fields such as systematics (including molecular phylogenetics) and genome organization. Many species of the genus (e.g., A. absinthium, A. annua, A. vulgaris, A. abrotanum, A. arborescens) are widely exploited, because of their high economic value as medicines, food and ornamentals. Withal, in such a large genus, some hiatus must inevitably exist, concerning attainments and potentials that individual species possess. Most of the studies are focused on bioactivity and pharmacology of sesquiterpene lactones. Lignans are unjustly neglected, even though they as well exhibit a wide range of bioactivities. Motivated by that fact, we tried to consolidate findings on bioactive lignans accumulated through the years, with the logical perspectives on further work on isolation and identification of new bioactive lignans and the exploitation of lignans as substances of potential pharmacological interest.