The study of the monoterpene glycosides content of Odontites luteus has shown the presence of a total of fifteen iridoid glucosides. The presence of compounds (1-5) and (7-10) is perfectly on-line with both the biogenetic pathway for iridoids biosynthesis in Lamiales and the current botanical classification of the species.
A new iridoid diglucoside has been isolated from an ethanolic extract of Antirrhinum siculum, together with five-known compounds. Its structure has been assigned as 5-O-glucopyranosyl-7-hydroxyharpagide by spectroscopic means.
The presence of antiviral compounds in the Guttiferae family as medicinal plants and the long traditional use of species of the genus Hypericum for the treatment of many viral infections have developed a strong interest. Among the natural products of plant origin, the ones from Hypericum genus were cited as promising anti-HIV agents. This chapter will report an updated review of carbocyclic nucleoside analogues as anti-HIV agents from iridoids. Moreover, the partial synthesis of antiviral agents from iridoid glucosides to carbocyclic nucleosides as new anti-HIV agents is reviewed.
In this review, the species from the genus Eremostachys Bunge are described and explored from different standpoints. In particular, the main attention is focused on phytochemistry also with reference to the biogenesis of the most important class of chemotaxonomic marker, the iridoids, and their co-occurrence with volatile terpene components of essential oils which own the same biogenetic precursors. The ethnopharmacological implications of the plants belonging to this genus are also reported in detail.
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