Polyacetylene Compounds of Plants of the Asteraceae Family (Review)

Natural polyacetylenes are compounds whose structures contain two or more triple bonds. More than 1100 different acetylenes and biogenetically related substances have been identified in plants of the Asteraceae family. The various tribes of this family are characterized by individual sets of acetylene metabolites, allowing these compounds to be regarded as important chemotaxonomic markers. Polyacetylene compounds of the Asteraceae family have cytotoxic, antimicrobial, anti-inflammatory, neurotoxic, phototoxic, and several other types of activity. Information on this class of natural compounds is limited, especially in the Russian scientific literature. The aim of the present review is to fill this gap in our knowledge of the polyacetylenes of the Asteraceae family.