Chemical constituents and biological activities of the genus Linaria (Scrophulariaceae)

A review with 95 references. The genus Linaria (Scrophularioideae-Antirrhineae tribe) is a known genus of the Scrophulariaceae family which comprises about 200 species mainly distributed in Europe, Asia and North Africa. The use of some Linaria species in folk medicine has attracted the attention for chemical and biological studies. This report is aimed to be a comprehensive overview on the isolated or identified known and often new metabolites from the 41 Linaria species so far cited. It is organized presenting first the phytochemical classes of alkaloids, polyphenols including flavonoids, the latter one being quite diffused and mostly present as flavones, flavonols and their glycosides, and terpenoids including iridoids and steroids. In a second part the results from biological investigation on plant extracts, pure natural products isolated from Linaria species and some synthetic derivatives are reported, classified as antitumor, anti-acetylcholinesterase, anti-inflammatory and analgesic, antioxidant and antibacterial activities.