Ligustilide Explained

Ligustilide is a natural chemical compound of the dihydrophthalide class. Ligustilide is found in the highest concentration in wild celeries (Apium graveolens).^{[1] [2]} It has also been found in Angelica sinensis and a variety of other plants including Todaroa montana.^[2]

Potential pharmacology

Because of the traditional use of Angelica sinesis in herbal medicine, particularly traditional Chinese medicine where it is known as dong quai, there has been interest in identifying chemical compounds responsible for its putative pharmacological effects. Ligustilide is typically identified as the principal bioactive component.^[3] A variety of in vitro effects of ligustilide have been reported, including antiinflammatory and neuroprotective effects.^[4] However, because of the chemical instability of ligustilide, the relevance of these studies to any effects in humans is uncertain.^[5]

Herbal extract

Ligustilide is a volatile compound, found in the essential oil of various herb roots.^[6] The oil is obtained by distillation or supercritical extraction of the dried root. In one report, total (Z)-ligustilide content in Angelica acutiloba root samples ranged from 0.08% to 0.22%.^[7] In an other report, ligustilide was not mentioned as a component in hydrodistilled essential oil of Angelica archangelica root from Serbia.^[8] When dried whole root is used, as in traditional Chinese medicine, the pharmacological effect may be ascribed to a range of components, including polysaccharides.^[9]

Notes and References

1. Web site: Ligustilide . Human Metabolome Database .
2. Gijbels, M.J.M., Fischer, F.C., Scheffer, J.J.C. . etal . Phthalides in roots of Anethum graveolens and Todaroa montana . Scientia Pharmaceutica . 51 . 4 . 414–417 . 1983.
3. 10.1038/s41598-019-43518-7 . Ligustilide, a major bioactive component of Angelica sinensis, promotes bone formation via the GPR30/EGFR pathway . 2019 . Yang . F. . Lin . Z. W. . Huang . T. Y. . Chen . T. T. . Cui . J. . Li . M. Y. . Hua . Y. Q. . Scientific Reports . 9 . 1 . 6991 . 31061445 . 6502875 . 2019NatSR...9.6991Y .
4. 10.1002/ptr.6662 . Z-ligustilide: A review of its pharmacokinetics and pharmacology . 2020 . Xie . Qingxuan . Zhang . Linlin . Xie . Long . Zheng . Yu . Liu . Kai . Tang . Hailong . Liao . Yanmei . Li . Xiaofang . Phytotherapy Research . 34 . 8 . 1966–1991 . 32135035 . 212567563 .
5. 10.1021/acs.jnatprod.8b00962 . Studying Mass Balance and the Stability of (Z)-Ligustilide from Angelica sinensis Helps to Bridge a Botanical Instability–Bioactivity Chasm . 2019 . Duric . Kemal . Liu . Yang . Chen . Shao-Nong . Lankin . David C. . Nikolic . Dejan . McAlpine . James B. . Friesen . J. Brent . Pauli . Guido F. . Journal of Natural Products . 82 . 9 . 2400–2408 . 31478376 . 6930006 .
6. Extraction and chemical composition essential oil of Kelussia odoratissima and comparison its larvicidal activity with Z-ligustilide (Major Constituent) against Anopheles stephensi . Mahmoud Osanloo, Amir Amani, Hassan Sereshti, Mansoureh Shayeghi, and Mohammad Mehdi Sedaghat . Journal of Entomology and Zoology Studies . 2017 . 5 . 4 . 611–616 .
7. 32737689 . 2021 . Kudo . Y. . Ando . H. . Sasaki . Y. . Quality evaluation of Angelicae acutilobae radix: Individual differences and localization of (Z)-ligustilide in Angelica acutiloba root . Journal of Natural Medicines . 75 . 1 . 1–10 . 10.1007/s11418-020-01438-1 . 8924091 .
8. 10.1177/1934578X1701200216 . Chemical Composition and Antibacterial Activity of Angelica archangelica Root Essential Oil . 2017 . Aćimović . Milica G. . Pavlović . Snežana Đ. . Varga . Ana O. . Filipović . Vladimir M. . Cvetković . Mirjana T. . Stanković . Jovana M. . Čabarkapa . Ivana S. . Natural Product Communications . 12 . 2 . 205–206 . 30428212 .
9. 31030757 . 2019 . Zeng . P. . Li . J. . Chen . Y. . Zhang . L. . The structures and biological functions of polysaccharides from traditional Chinese herbs . Progress in Molecular Biology and Translational Science . 163 . 423–444 . 10.1016/bs.pmbts.2019.03.003 . 7102684 . 978-0-12-817740-2 .