Centaurothamnus maximus (family Asteraceae), is a leafy shrub indigenous to the southwestern Arabian Peninsula. With a paucity of phytochemical data on this species, we set out to chemically characterize the plant. From the aerial parts, two newly identified guaianolides were isolated: 3β-hydroxy-4α(acetoxy)-4β(hydroxymethyl)-8α-(4-hydroxy methacrylate)-1αH,5αH, 6αH-gual-10(14),11(13)-dien-6,12-olide (1) and 15-descarboxy picrolide A (2). Seven previously reported compounds were also isolated: 3β, 4α, 8α-trihydroxy-4-(hydroxymethyl)-lαH, 5αH, 6βH, 7αH-guai-10(14),11(13)-dien-6,12-olide (3), chlorohyssopifolin B (4), cynaropikrin (5), hydroxyjanerin (6), chlorojanerin (7), isorhamnetin (8), and quercetagetin-3,6-dimethyl ether-4’-O-β-d-pyranoglucoside (9). Chemical structures were elucidated using spectroscopic techniques, including High Resolution Fast Atom Bombardment Mass Spectrometry (HR-FAB-MS), 1D NMR; ¹H, ¹³C NMR, Distortionless Enhancement by Polarization Transfer (DEPT), and 2D NMR (¹H-¹H COSY, HMQC, HMBC) analyses. In addition, a biosynthetic pathway for compounds 1–9 is proposed. The chemotaxonomic significance of the reported sesquiterpenoids and flavonoids considering reports from other Centaurea species is examined.

Genus Stachys, the largest genera of the family Lamiaceae, and its species are frequently used as herbal teas due to their essential oils. Tubers of some Stachys species are also consumed as important nutrients for humans and animals due to their carbohydrate contents. Three new neo-clerodane diterpene peroxides, named stachaegyptin F-H (1, 2, and 4), together with two known compounds, stachysperoxide (3) and stachaegyptin A (5), were isolated from Stachys aegyptiaca aerial parts. Their structures were determined using a combination of spectroscopic techniques, including HR-FAB-MS and extensive 1D and 2D NMR (¹H, ¹³C NMR, DEPT, ¹H-¹H COSY, HMQC, HMBC and NOESY) analyses. Additionally, a biosynthetic pathway for the isolated compounds (1–5) was discussed. The chemotaxonomic significance of the isolated diterpenoids of S. aegyptiaca in comparison to the previous reported ones from other Stachys species was also studied.

The methylene chloride-methanol (1:1) extract of the air-dried aerial parts of Magnolia grandiflora was fractionated and separated to obtain the isolated compounds by different chromatographic techniques. Structures of the isolated compounds were determined on the basis of the extensive spectroscopic analysis, including 1D and 2D NMR and compared with the literature data. Three secondary metabolites were isolated from Magnolia grandiflora in this study. Of which two sesquiterpenoidal compounds; parthenolide (1) and 1,10-epoxy-parthenolide (2), together with an aromatic compound identified as threo-4-hydroxyphenyl propane-7,8-diol, 7-O-ethylether (3), which firstly isolated from the genus Magnolia. Our study aims to further phytochemical investigation of M. grandiflora to discover more secondary metabolites characterized with wide range of therapeutic values.

Asteraceae (Compositae) family has a crucial role in complementary and alternative medicine, with its plants known for their biological applications and high economic value. Since ancient times, these plants, such as those in the Saussurea genus, have been used for treating various diseases. Throughout the ages, Saussurea species have attracted attention for their therapeutic abilities and the importance of their many biological applications. Therefore, this is the first review with the aim of demonstrating the anti-viral activity and immunomodulator effects of Saussurea species. We investigated a wide range of literature across the biggest scientific databases to obtain the necessary information about the plants of Saussurea genus and their biological applications. We found that many Saussurea species have anti-viral activity against various viruses, including enveloped single-stranded RNA viruses, whether negative-sense or positive-sense, and also have anti-viral activity against enveloped double-stranded DNA viruses. We also found that the scientific papers indicated many immunomodulator agents that were isolated from different Saussurea species. These findings support the significance of Saussurea species as a potential source of medications for the immune system and as efficient antiviral drugs. These plants may possibly be useful in future virus-caused pandemics as a primitive and complementary method of disease management. Some of these plants need further investigations and studies to prove their antiviral activity clearly and, in addition, to discover more Saussurea species that likely possess antiviral or immunomodulatory properties.