Bioactive Usual and Unusual Triterpenoids Derived from Natural Sources Used in Traditional Medicine

Abstract

Triterpenoids are accessible in several terrestrial plants as well as marine organisms, including sponges, algae, fungi, and sea cucumbers are examples of marine creatures. So far, more than 20,000 natural triterpenoids have exhibited several varied bioactivities, including anticancer, antimalarial, anti‐HIV, inhibit HIF‐1 activation, antibacterial, chemopreventive, anti‐inflammatory, antioxidant, cardioprotective, antiviral, neuroprotective, hepatoprotective, insecticidal, antidiabetic, cytotoxic. Several plants are used in folklore medicine to treat numerous ailments, and the preparation or uses of traditional practices have been scientifically validated. Although various structural diversity has been observed in the triterpenoids, this review presents the sources and uses of those triterpenoids that showed significant biological activities which could be accessible and promoted to familiar people in the form of traditional medicine or for industrial, or pharmaceutical applications.

Optimization of the Extraction Process and Biological Activities of Triterpenoids of Schisandra sphenanthera from Different Medicinal Parts and Growth Stages

“…As a result, more and more natural products are being used as beneficial alternatives for controlling microbial resistance [46,47]. At present, there are many reports on the antibacterial activity of triterpenoids [41,47,48], but there are few studies on the antibacterial aspects of the active components of S. sphenanthera. In this study, the antibacterial activities of the canes and leaves of S. sphenanthera against B. subtilis, S. aureus, E. coli, P. aeruginosa, and M. albicans were measured in vitro.…”

Triterpenes as Potential Drug Candidates for Rheumatoid Arthritis Treatment

“…β-amyrin (6) and polpunonic acid (7) are found in the root bark of Ziziphus abyssinica (Hochst Ex A. Rich), a recognized medicinal plant widely distributed in the tropical regions of the world, showing antioxidant, anti-bacterial and anti-plasmodial activities, among others [84].…”

“…The structural diversity of secondary metabolites is a rich biogenetic supply for the discovery of novel drugs when compared to synthetic molecules, offering hit and lead compounds for rational drug design [6]. Among the diverse families of Life 2023, 13, 1514 2 of 42 natural products (e.g., terpenoids, steroids, phenolic compounds and alkaloids), triterpenes are an important group of phytochemicals, possessing a wide array of biological effects, which have been extensively documented in the scientific literature [7][8][9][10][11]. Among these effects, the anti-microbial [12,13], anti-tumor [14][15][16], anti-diabetic [10], anti-cholesterol [17], anti-inflammatory [18] and immunomodulatory [19] activities have gathered considerable attention within the pharmaceutical area [20,21].…”

Triterpenoids from Cyclocarya paliurus: Structure, biosynthesis, biological activities

“…The basic nucleus of most triterpenoids is composes 30 carbon atoms, which can be regarded as the polymerization of six isoprene units according to isoprene rules [20] . Triterpenoids are important secondary metabolites in the plant kingdom and one of the most abundant phytochemical categories; they possess more than 20,000 known structures because their basic skeletons are modified through various ways [21] . They are widely distributed plant ingredients and generally considered nontoxic [22] .…”