Bergenin, alias cuscutin, is trihydroxybenzoic acid glycoside. It is the C-

glycoside In chemistry, a glycoside is a molecule in which a sugar is bound to another functional group via a glycosidic bond. Glycosides play numerous important roles in living organisms. Many plants store chemicals in the form of inactive glycoside ...

of 4-O-methyl

gallic acid Gallic acid (also known as 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid) is a trihydroxybenzoic acid with the formula C6 H2( OH)3CO2H. It is classified as a phenolic acid. It is found in gallnuts, sumac, witch hazel, tea leaves, oak bark, and other plants. I ...

. It possesses an O-demethylated derivative called norbergenin. These are chemical compounds and drugs of

Ayurveda Ayurveda () is an alternative medicine system with historical roots in the Indian subcontinent. The theory and practice of Ayurveda is pseudoscientific. Ayurveda is heavily practiced in India and Nepal, where around 80% of the population rep ...

, commonly known as Paashaanbhed. It shows a potent

immunomodulatory Immunotherapy or biological therapy is the treatment of disease by activating or suppressing the immune system. Immunotherapies designed to elicit or amplify an immune response are classified as ''activation immunotherapies,'' while immunotherap ...

effect. Bergenin can be isolated from ''

Bergenia ''Bergenia'' (elephant-eared saxifrage, elephant's ears) is a genus of ten species of flowering plants in the family Saxifragaceae, native to central Asia, from Afghanistan to China and the Himalayan region. Description They are clump-forming, ...

'' species like '' Bergenia ciliata'' and '' Bergenia ligulata'', from rhizomes of ''

Bergenia stracheyi ''Bergenia stracheyi'' is a plant species in the genus ''Bergenia'' found in the Western Himalayas, from 2700 to 4700 m, Afghanistan and Tajikistan Tajikistan (, ; tg, Тоҷикистон, Tojikiston; russian: Таджикистан, Ta ...

''. It is also found in the stem bark of ''

Dryobalanops aromatica ''Dryobalanops aromatica'', commonly known as Borneo camphor, camphor tree, Malay camphor, or Sumatran camphor, is a species of critically endangered plant in the family Dipterocarpaceae. The species name ''aromatica'' is derived from Latin (''ar ...

'', in ''

Ardisia elliptica ''Ardisia elliptica'' is an evergreen tree, also known as the shoebutton ardisia, duck's eye and coralberry, native to the west coast of India, Sri Lanka, Indochina, Malaysia, Indonesia and New Guinea. It is a prolific reproducer which has made i ...

'' and in '' Mallotus japonicus''.Hepatoprotective effects of bergenin, a major constituent of Mallotus japonicus, on carbon tetrachloride-intoxicated rats. Lim HwaKyung, Kim HackSeang, Choi HongSerck, Oh SeiKwan and Choi JongWon, Journal of Ethnopharmacology, 2000, Volume 72 , Number 3, pages 469-474,

References

External links

* O-methylated natural phenols Phenolic acid glucosides C-glycoside natural phenols {{aromatic-stub