Anemonin is a compound found in plants of the

buttercup family Ranunculaceae (buttercup or crowfoot family; Latin "little frog", from "frog") is a family of over 2,000 known species of flowering plants in 43 genera, distributed worldwide. The largest genera are ''Ranunculus'' (600 species), ''Delphinium' ...

(Ranunculaceae). It is the

dimerization A dimer () (''wikt:di-, di-'', "two" + ''-mer'', "parts") is an oligomer consisting of two monomers joined by bonds that can be either strong or weak, Covalent bond, covalent or Intermolecular force, intermolecular. Dimers also have significant im ...

product of the

toxin A toxin is a naturally occurring organic poison produced by metabolic activities of living cells or organisms. Toxins occur especially as a protein or conjugated protein. The term toxin was first used by organic chemist Ludwig Brieger (1849– ...

protoanemonin Protoanemonin (sometimes called anemonol or ranunculol) is a toxin found in all plants of the buttercup family (Ranunculaceae). When the plant is wounded or macerated, the unstable glucoside found in the plant, ranunculin, is enzymatically broken d ...

and easily reacts with water to a

dicarboxylic acid In organic chemistry, a dicarboxylic acid is an organic compound containing two carboxyl groups (). The general molecular formula for dicarboxylic acids can be written as , where R can be aliphatic or aromatic. In general, dicarboxylic acids show ...

The name of the substance comes from the plant genus ''

Anemone ''Anemone'' () is a genus of flowering plants in the buttercup family Ranunculaceae. Plants of the genus are commonly called windflowers. They are native to the temperate and subtropical regions of all continents except Australia, New Zealand an ...

'', from which it was first identified.

Potential uses

Antispasmodic An antispasmodic (synonym: spasmolytic) is a pharmaceutical drug or other agent that suppresses muscle spasms. Smooth muscle spasm One type of antispasmodics is used for smooth muscle relaxation, especially in tubular organs of the gastrointesti ...

and analgetic properties have been described. The compound appears to inhibit pigmentation synthesis, and has therefore been suggested as a potential candidate for cosmetic use.

References

Furanones Spiro compounds Ranunculaceae Cyclobutanes {{heterocyclic-stub