Anemone medicinal plants: ethnopharmacology, phytochemistry and biology

The Ranunculaceae genus Anemone (order Ranunculales), comprising more than 150 species, mostly herbs, has long been used in folk medicine and worldwide ethnomedicine. Various medicinal compounds have been found in Anemone plants, especially triterpenoid saponins, some of which have shown anti-cancer activities. This paper summarizes ethnomedicine knowledge and recent progress of chemical and pharmacological diversity of Anemone medicinal plants, as well as emerging molecular machineries and functions of medicinal compounds.88