SANTAMARINE: Mechanistic studies on multiple diseases.

Medicinal plants are vital sources of modern and traditional Chinese medicines. Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) consist of a large group of plant secondary metabolites and belong to C15 terpenoid group. SLs have shown various biological activities including antitumor and anti-inflammatory activities. Santamarine (STM), C15 H20 O3 , is a kind of sesquiterpene lactone, whose molecular weight is 248.322 g/mol. Santamarine has been isolated from several plants species and has shown eminent biological activities, such as anticancer activity and anti-inflammatory activity. In this mini-review, we summarize the studies on the effects and the mechanisms of STM, and explore the avenues of application.