Genus Moquiniastrum (Asteraceae): Overview of Chemical and Bioactivity Studies

The genus Moquiniastrum belongs to the Asteraceae family and is widely and exclusively dispersed throughout South America. Its species adapt easily to different cultivation conditions, and present a varied chemical composition with a great performance in pharmacological and pharmacognosy studies, mainly for sesquiterpene lactones. Moquiniastrum polymorphum is a species distinguished in the genus, presenting socioeconomic potential in several sectors, besides great application in folk medicine to treat respiratory diseases. The bioactive properties highlighted in the research are antioxidant, allelopathic, anti-inflammatory, insecticidal, antiviral and antimicrobial activity, and toxicity against different cancer lines, among others. To date, from 21 species belonging to the genus Moquiniastrum 11 species have been studied for their chemical composition, and only five species have been studied for their biological or toxicological activity. Different parts of the plants have been analysed, such as flowers, leaves and bark of the trunk and roots, and extracts obtained by different extraction methods and solvents. The genus has in its chemical composition classes of molecules such as sesquiterpene lactones, sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, flavonoids, coumarins, caffeic acid derivatives, acetylene and non-protein amino acids. Isolation studies of the chemical constituents of the species are promising considering that they are safe to use since they do not cause changes in DNA and can be used even during the gestational period.