Tags: Chemical Compound, Chemical Substance.
Merrilactone A is one of the four sesquiterpenes that were newly discovered from the fruit of Illicium merrillianum in 2000. Members of the genus Illicium include Chinese star anise widely used as a spice for flavouring food and beverages and also poisonous plants such as Japanese star anise. Chemical studies of Illicium have developed rapidly over the last 20 years and merrilactone A has been shown to have neurotrophic activity in fetal rat cortical neuron cultures.
