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A compilation of the constituents isolated from Swertia species covering the literature up to December 2003 is presented. The botanical classification and ethno-pharmacology of Swertia plants, as well as the biological activities and pharmacological applications of both distinct phytochemicals and medicinally active plant materials (formulations, extracts, etc.) are discussed in detail.

The present review deals with recently reported novel natural flavones and flavonols (mid-1999 to early 2004), along with various biological and pharmacological activities as exhibited by these important groups of flavonoids. The present resumé lists 252 new naturally occurring flavones and flavonols reported during the period. Natural distribution by plant family of the flavonoids is considered; a variety of plant species belonging to fifty-two different plant families is mentioned as their natural sources. Therapeutic efficacies of these constituents are also cited. The review covers 231 references.

An ethanolic extract of the dried flower petals of Argemone mexicana afforded a new and optically active secondary C 31 -alkanediol characterised as hentriacontane-3,20-diol on the basis of spectroscopic studies including IR, HR-MS, 1 H and 13 C NMR.

Flavonoids are considered as a significant class of compounds among the natural products, exhibiting a variety of structural skeletons as well as multidirectional biological potentials. In structural elucidations of natural products, Nuclear Magnetic Resonance (NMR) spectroscopy has been playing a vital role; the technique is one of the sharpest tools in the hands of natural products chemists. The present resume deals with hard-core applications of such spectral technique, particularly in structural elucidation of flavonoids; different NMR techniques including 1H-NMR, 13C-NMR, and 2D-NMR [viz. 1H-1H COSY, COLOC, HMBC, HMQC] are described in detail.