Research Progress on Sesquiterpenoids of and Their Pharmacological Effects.

, a traditional Chinese medicine with a wide range of pharmacological activities, is obtained from the dried rhizomes of VaL., S. G. Lee et C. F. Liang, and Y. H. Chen et C. Ling. Sesquiterpenoids and curcuminoids are found to be the main constituents of . Sesquiterpenoids are composed of three isoprene units and are susceptible to complex transformations, such as cyclization, rearrangement, and oxidation. They are the most structurally diverse class of plant-based natural products with a wide range of biological activities and are widely found in nature. In recent years, scholars have conducted abundant studies on the structures and pharmacological properties of components of . This article elucidates the chemical structures, medicinal properties, and biological properties of the sesquiterpenoids (a total of 274 compounds) isolated from . We summarized extraction and isolation methods for sesquiterpenoids, established a chemical component library of sesquiterpenoids in , and analyzed structural variances among sesquiterpenoids sourced from of diverse botanical origins. Furthermore, our investigation reveals a diverse array of sesquiterpenoid types, encompassing guaiane-type, germacrane-type, eudesmane-type, elemane-type, cadinane-type, carane-type, bisabolane-type, humulane-type, and other types, emphasizing the relationship between structural diversity and activity. We hope to provide a valuable reference for further research and exploitation and pave the way for the development of new drugs derived from medicinal plants.