Abstract:

12 saponins of 18 taxa (species, varieties and forms) of the genus Paris are listed in this paper, in which glucoside 7, 8 and 10 that have been able to used to stop bleeding; glucoside 3 and 5 exhibit antitumor activity; further-more, glucoside 3 is of great use for bacteriostasis. The rhizoma of some species including Paris poly phi la Smith var. chinensis possess analgesic and sedative effects. In China, the genus Paris composes of 16 species, amounting to 84.2% of the whole 19 species of this genus, in which 15 species are mainly distributed in Yunnan, Sichuan and Guizhou, being up to 78.9% of this genus. Several species of Paris, such as Paris polyphylla Smith var. yunnanensis and P. polyphylla Smith var. chinensis, have been used as medicines for long time, but now more plants including P. forrestii, P. cronquistii, P. fargesii, P. luquanensis.P. polyphylla Smith form. macrosepala, P. vietnamensis, P. dunniana, P. mairei, P. polyphylla Smith var. stenophylla etc., are considered as important materials for medicines because the chemical compounds extracted from these plants have been proved with physiological activity. Unfortunately some species of the genus Paris are faced with a extinction for the resources of this genus are being consumed day by day. In this case, it seems quite necessary to broaden sources of income and reduce expediture. We also should pay more attention to the artificial propagation and cultivation of the genus Paris.

Key words: Paris, Chemical constituents. Geographical distribution, Resource appraisal