Issue 3, 2021

Natural products in agarwood and Aquilaria plants: chemistry, biological activities and biosynthesis

Abstract

Covering: Up to the end of 2019.

Agarwood is a resinous portion of Aquilaria trees, which is formed in response to environmental stress factors such as physical injury or microbial attack. It is very sought-after among the natural incenses, as well as for its medicinal properties in traditional Chinese and Ayurvedic medicine. Interestingly, the chemical constituents of agarwood and healthy Aquilaria trees are quite different. Sesquiterpenes and 2-(2-phenethyl)chromones with diverse scaffolds commonly accumulate in agarwood. Similar structures have rarely been reported from the original trees that mainly contain flavonoids, benzophenones, xanthones, lignans, simple phenolic compounds, megastigmanes, diterpenoids, triterpenoids, steroids, alkaloids, etc. This review summarizes the chemical constituents and biological activities both in agarwood and Aquilaria trees, and their biosynthesis is discussed in order to give a comprehensive overview of the research progress on agarwood.

Graphical abstract: Natural products in agarwood and Aquilaria plants: chemistry, biological activities and biosynthesis

Supplementary files

Article information

Article type
Review Article
Submitted
16 Jun 2020
First published
29 Sep 2020

Nat. Prod. Rep., 2021,38, 528-565

Natural products in agarwood and Aquilaria plants: chemistry, biological activities and biosynthesis

W. Li, H. Chen, H. Wang, W. Mei and H. Dai, Nat. Prod. Rep., 2021, 38, 528 DOI: 10.1039/D0NP00042F

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