Noteworthy Secondary Metabolites Naphthoquinones - their Occurrence, Pharmacological Properties and Analysis

Chemical investigation of many bacterial and fungal, as well as plant species has revealed the presence of interesting compounds derived from naphthalene - 1,4-naphthoquinones and rarely also 1,2-naphthoquinones. They were detected in many species of families Bignoniaceae, Droseraceae, Plumbaginace, Boraginaceae, Juglandaceae as well as in species of small families, such as Dioncophyllaceae or Acanthaceae. Naphthoquinones have very interesting spectrum of biological actions, including antibiotic, antiviral, anti-inflammatory, antipyretic, antiproliferative and cytotoxic effects. Because of these properties the plants containing them are used in folk medicines, mainly by natives in Asia, where especially Chinese medicine uses aerial as well as subterranean parts of these plants for hundreds years, and South America. The utilizing of naphthoquinones for medicinal purposes and their occurrence in nature is reviewed and discussed. Moreover, we review analytical techniques using for their analysis.