Research Progress on Phenanthrenes from Dioscorea Plants and Their Pharmacological Activities

Dioscorea is an important source of traditional Chinese medicine, many traditional Chinese medicine such as Dioscoreae Rhizoma, Dioscoreae Nipponicae Rhizoma, Dioscorea Hypoglauca Rhizoma, Dioscoreae Panthaicae Rhizoma, Dioscoreae Spongiosae Rhizoma all come from this genus. Phenanthrene compounds are an important class of chemical constituents in this genus, including five structural types of phenanthrene monomer, dihydrophenanthrene, tetrahydrophenanthrene, phenanthrenequinone and phenanthrene dimer. They possess anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, hypoglycemic, anti-obesity, antibacterial, antiviral, neuroprotective and other pharmacological activities. Some phenanthrenes from Dioscorea have various activities and significant effects, and have good prospects for development and utilization. At present, there has been no systematic review on phenanthrenes from Dioscorea plants. In this paper, the phenanthrenes from Dioscorea plants and their pharmacological activities are reviewed to provide reference for related studies and promote the development and utilization of Dioscorea plants.