Research Progress of Natural Product Gentiopicroside - a Secoiridoid Compound

Gentiopicroside is a secoiridoid compound isolated from Gentiana lutea which is called Qin Jiao in Chinese. It is one of the most common herbal medicines used in China. In this article, we review the pharmacological and biological activity (antiviral, anti-inflammatory, analgesia, antihepatotoxic and choleretic), as well as biotransformation of the gentiopicroside. In addition, attempt towards the total synthesis of gentiopicroside is also presented. Keywords: Biological activity, biotransformation, gentiopicroside, natural product, secoiridoid, total synthesis.