Enzyme

Podophyllotoxin

Bioinformatics

Stereochemistry

Biology

Chemistry

Phenylpropanoid

Lignan

Botany

Computational biology

Drug discovery

Biosynthesis

Biochemistry

Traditional medicine

Medicine

Molecules

Lignans are widely produced by various plant species; they are a class of natural products that share structural similarity. They usually contain a core scaffold that is formed by two or more phenylpropanoid units. Lignans possess diverse pharmacological properties, including their antiviral activities that have been reported in recent years. This review discusses the distribution of lignans in nature according to their structural classification, and it provides a comprehensive summary of their antiviral activities. Among them, two types of antiviral lignans—podophyllotoxin and bicyclol, which are used to treat venereal warts and chronic hepatitis B (CHB) in clinical, serve as examples of using lignans for antivirals—are discussed in some detail. Prospects of lignans in antiviral drug discovery are also discussed.

Lignans and Their Derivatives from Plants as Antivirals