Podophyllum delavayi

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Common products:
Dried rhizome of Podophyllum delavayi is harvested and marketed as bulk raw material for the extraction of podophyllotoxin, a lignan used as a precursor in the industrial synthesis of anticancer agents (e.g., etoposide, teniposide). The product is supplied as ground rhizome powder or as a concentrated ethanol‑methanol extract.

Industrial and craft applications:
The principal industrial use is the isolation of podophyllotoxin from the rhizomes via solvent extraction (commonly ethanol or methanol) followed by chromatographic purification for fine‑chemical and biopharmaceutical manufacturing. The plant is cultivated specifically for its high podophyllotoxin yield, supporting a supply chain for anti‑cancer drug intermediates.

Properties relevant to use:
The rhizome contains up to 2–5 % (w/w) dry‑weight podophyllotoxin, a dibenzylbutane lignan with high lipophilicity, a characteristic UV absorption (λmax ≈ 290 nm), and good solubility in organic solvents—features that enable efficient extraction and downstream purification. Related lignans (e.g., deoxypodophyllotoxin) present similar physicochemical behavior, allowing simultaneous isolation during standard processing.

Standards and regulation:
Bulk Podophyllum rhizome raw material must comply with pharmacopeial standards. The European Pharmacopoeia (Ph. Eur.) monograph “Podophyllum rhizome” specifies a minimum podophyllotoxin content of ≥ 2 % for dried material and limits for heavy metals and microbial contamination. Extracted podophyllotoxin is further regulated under ICH Q3A guidelines for impurity profiling in pharmaceutical intermediates.

Sustainability and sourcing:
Wild populations of P. delavayi are vulnerable to over‑harvest because rhizomes are the harvested part, reducing plant regeneration. Conservation assessments list the species as near‑threatened in parts of its native range in China. Sustainable sourcing initiatives include cultivation trials in southern China that achieve comparable podophyllotoxin yields and the development of in‑vitro micropropagation protocols to reduce pressure on wild populations.

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No reference genome is available on NCBI yet. We are constantly monitoring for new data.

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