Resurrection species are a group of land plants that can tolerate extreme desiccation of their vegetative tissues
during harsh drought stress, and still quickly – often within hours – regain normal physiological and metabolic
functions following rehydration. At the molecular level, this desiccation tolerance is attributed to basal cellular
mechanisms including the constitutive expression of stress-associated genes and high levels of protective
metabolites present already in the absence of stress, as well as to transcriptome and metabolome
reconfigurations rapidly occurring during the initial phases of drought stress. Parts of this response are conferred
by unique metabolites, including a diverse array of sugars, phenolic compounds, and polyols, some of which
accumulate to high concentrations within the plant cell. In addition to drought stress, these metabolites are
proposed to contribute to the protection against other abiotic stresses and to an increased oxidative stress
tolerance. Recently, extracts of resurrection species and particular secondary metabolites therein were reported
to display biological activities of importance to medicine, with e.g. antibacterial, anticancer, antifungal, and
antiviral activities, rendering them possible candidates for the development of novel drug substances as well
as for cosmetics.Herein, we provide an overviewof themetabolite composition of resurrection species, summarize
the latest reports related to the use of natural products from resurrection plants, and outline their potential for
medical applications.
© 2014 The Authors. Published by Elsevier Inc. This is an open access article under the CC BY license