Icariin is a flavonol glycoside that can be found in traditionally medicinal herb Herb Epimedii. Like many other flavonoids, it exhibits pharmalogically promising bioactivities. Icariin in particular has shown antioxidant, anti-inflammatory, anticancer and antiviral activities. In a paper by Zhang et al., Icariin both exerted its own antitumor activity and potentiated the antitumor activity of gemcitabine.
Icariin is soluble in pyridine, and insoluble in water and alcohol.