Advances in chemistry and bioactivity of the genus Uncaria.

The alkaloids of the pantropical genus Uncaria (Rubiaceae) were reviewed extensively by Phillipson et al. in (1978) Since then a host of papers with new results has been published. The compounds discovered are from three major groups: (1) alkaloids; (2) terpenoids; and (3) flavonoids. Some highly unusual structures have been reported. Although there are at least 35 species of Uncaria known, recent research focussed on a relatively small number of species. During recent years bioactivity of extracts and pure compounds isolated from Uncaria species have been increasingly investigated. These include anticonvulsive, antiinflammatory, antimutagenic, antioxidant, cytoprotective, hypotensive, and immunoregulatory effects. The literature since 1978 is reviewed and 133 references are given. Copyright 2004 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.