Toho University Researchers Reveal Structurally Diverse Daphnane Diterpenoids in Daphne genkwa

A research group led by Lecturer Kouharu Otsuki and Professor Wei Li of the Department of Pharmacognosy, Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, revealed that the medicinal plant Daphne genkwa contains structurally diverse daphnane diterpenoids using liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry (LC-MS) analyses. Daphnane diterpenoids exhibit various biological activities including anticancer, anti-HIV, and analgesic effects. These findings suggest that D. genkwa is a promising plant resource for drug discovery. This study was published online in the Journal of Natural Medicines on June 22, 2026.

From left: Dr. Kouharu Otsuki, Dr. Wei Li, Dr. Takashi Kikuchi

Key Points

LC-MS analysis of Daphne genkwa flowers enabled the structural characterization of 37 daphnane diterpenoids, nine of which have not previously been isolated from plants.
Detailed analysis of the relationship between MS/MS fragmentation patterns and chromatographic retention times established reliable criteria for distinguishing complex structural isomers that were previously difficult to discriminate using mass spectrometric data alone.
Further investigation of daphnane diterpenoids may support the use of Daphne genkwa as a novel plant resource for drug discovery.

Daphne genkwa and structure of daphnane diterpenoids. Credit: Otsuki K/Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Toho University, 2026, CC BY

Journal:
Journal of Natural Medicines (Published online: June 22, 2026)

Title:
Liquid chromatography-mass spectrometry-based automated annotation program-assisted structural characterization of daphnane diterpenoids from Daphne genkwa

Authors:
Kouharu Otsuki, Mi Zhang, Kakeru Hirose, Takashi Kikuchi, and Wei Li

DOI:
10.1007/s11418-026-02056-z

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