Biologically active sesquiterpenes from the indigenous ferula species (Apiaceae) of Turkey

The genus Ferula comprises more than 180 species and is the largest genus of Apiaceae in Asia. There are 23 species of Ferula in Turkey and 17 of them are endemic. Ferula species are rich sources of sesquiterpenes with wide structural variety. The phytochemical investigations of several Ferula species growing in Turkey has yielded many sesquiterpenes with antibacterial, antifungal, anticancer, antioxidant, P-glycoprotein inhibitor, immune modulator and hormonal activities. Chemical structures, chemical transformations, biological activities, biosynthetic and chemotaxonomic significance of the sesquiterpenes isolated from Anatolian Ferula species will be presented.