Ligustilide is a natural chemical compound of the dihydro phthalide class. Ligustilide is found in the highest concentration in wild celeries (''Apium graveolens''). It has also been found in ''

Angelica sinensis ''Angelica sinensis'', commonly known as ''dong quai'' () or female ginseng, is a herb belonging to the family Apiaceae, indigenous to China. ''A. sinensis'' grows in cool high altitude mountains in East Asia. The yellowish brown root of the plan ...

'' and a variety of other plants including '' Todaroa montana''.

Potential pharmacology

Because of the traditional use of ''Angelica sinesis'' in herbal medicine, particularly

traditional Chinese medicine Traditional Chinese medicine (TCM) is an alternative medicine, alternative medical practice drawn from traditional medicine in China. A large share of its claims are pseudoscientific, with the majority of treatments having no robust evidence ...

where it is known as ''dong quai'', there has been interest in identifying chemical compounds responsible for its putative pharmacological effects. Ligustilide is typically identified as the principal bioactive component. A variety of ''

in vitro ''In vitro'' (meaning ''in glass'', or ''in the glass'') Research, studies are performed with Cell (biology), cells or biological molecules outside their normal biological context. Colloquially called "test-tube experiments", these studies in ...

'' effects of ligustilide have been reported, including antiinflammatory and neuroprotective effects. However, because of the chemical instability of ligustilide, the relevance of these studies to any effects in humans is uncertain.

Herbal extract

Ligustilide is a volatile compound, found in the essential oil of various herb roots. The oil is obtained by distillation or supercritical extraction of the dried root. In one report, total (''Z'')-ligustilide content in ''

Angelica acutiloba ''Angelica acutiloba'' is a perennial herb from the family Apiaceae or Umbelliferous (carrot or parsley family). It is predominately in Japan and perhaps endemism, endemic (unique). It is now distributed widely and cultivated in Jilin, China, Kor ...

'' root samples ranged from 0.08% to 0.22%. In an other report, ligustilide was not mentioned as a component in hydrodistilled essential oil of ''

Angelica archangelica ''Angelica archangelica'', commonly known as angelica, garden angelica, wild celery, and Norwegian angelica, is a biennial plant from the family Apiaceae, a subspecies of which is cultivated for its sweetly scented edible stems and roots. Like ...

'' root from Serbia. When dried whole root is used, as in traditional Chinese medicine, the pharmacological effect may be ascribed to a range of components, including

polysaccharide Polysaccharides (), or polycarbohydrates, are the most abundant carbohydrates found in food. They are long-chain polymeric carbohydrates composed of monosaccharide units bound together by glycosidic linkages. This carbohydrate can react with wat ...

References

{{reflist Phthalides Angelica Traditional Chinese medicine