This review examines the chemical compositions and bioactivities of mangrove plants belonging to the Rhizophoraceae family. The Rhizophoraceae family of true mangrove plants is the most common and is also widely distributed species. It consists of 24 species across four genera. Of the 24 species, 12 species remain unexamined for their phytochemical constituents. There have been 268 metabolites reported from 16 species. The key phytochemical constituents identified across the family are the diterpenoids and triterpenoids. The major diterpenoids include pimaranes, beyeranes, kaurenes, dolabranes and labdanes whereas the significant triterpenoids are lupanes, dammaranes and oleananes. Disulphides, dolabranes and labdanes are considered to be the chemotaxonomic markers of the genera Bruguiera, Ceriops and Rhizophora respectively.

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