Chemical and pharmacological studies of the plants from genus Celastrus.

The plants of genus Celastrus, distributed in Asia, have been used as natural insecticides and folk medicines to treat fever, chill, joint pain, edema, rheumatoid arthritis, and bacterial infection in China for a long time. This contribution reviews the chemical constituents, isolated from the plants in genus Celastrus in the past few decades, and their biological activities. The compounds listed are sesquiterpenes (beta-agarofurans), diterpenes, triterpenes, alkaloids, and flavonoids.