From CH2Cl2 and MeOH extracts of the stems of Cynomorium songaricum RUPR. (Cynomoriaceae), ursolic acid and its hydrogen malonate were isolated as inhibitors of human immunodeficiency virus type 1 (HIV-1) protease, with 50% inhibitory concentrations (IC50) of 8 and 6 microM, respectively. Amongst various synthesized dicarboxylic acid hemiesters of related triterpenes, inhibitory activity tended...

The aim of my research was to screen secondary metabolites and antimicrobial activities of methanolic extracts of the leaves Vernonia amygdalina and Plantago lanceolata, and acetone extracts of the leaves Rosmarinus officinalis and Thymus schimperi against two bacteria (Staphylococcus aureus and Escherichia coli) and two fungi (Aspergillus niger and Fusarium oxysporum) using paper disc diffusio...

Maytenus ilicifolia and Maytenus aquifolia species are widely used as a cicatrisation agent, an anti-spasmodic, contraceptive, antiulcerogenic, diuretic and analgesic. Considering the importance of these species in popular medicine, this work is focused on the determination of the chemical content of tannins and the triterpenes friedelan-3-one, friedelan-3-ol and friedelin in 15 native populati...

A homology-based PCR method was used to clone a cDNA encoding lanosterol synthase (LS) from Ganoderma lucidum (G. lucidum), which produces triterpenes. The cDNA of the LS (GenBank accession no. GQ169528) was found to contain an open reading frame (ORF) of 2,181 bp encoding a 726 amino acid polypeptide, whereas the LS genomic DNA sequence (GenBank accession no. GQ169529) consists of 2,924 bp. Fu...

Three new ursane triterpenes, 3α,19α-dihydroxy-2-nor-urs-12-en-23,28-dioic acid-23-methyl ester (1), 19α,23-dihydroxy-3-oxo-2-nor-urs-12-en-28-oic acid (2), and 2,3-seco-3-methoxy-3,19α,23-trihydroxy-urs-12-en-2-al-28-oic acid (3), were isolated from the MeOH extract of the branch barks of Davidia involucrata, together with six known compounds. Their structures were elucidated by means of vario...

A series of novel ligustrazine-triterpenes derivatives was designed, synthesized and screened for their cytotoxicity against five cancer cell lines (Bel-7402, HepG2, HT-29, Hela, and MCF-7) and Madin-Darby canine kidney (MDCK). Current study suggested that most of the ligustrazine-triterpenes conjunctions showed better cytotoxicity than the starting materials. In particular, compound 4a exhibit...

Triterpenoids are the most representative group of phytochemicals, as they comprise more than 20,000 recognized molecules. These compounds are biosynthesized in plants via squalene cyclization, a C30 hydrocarbon that is considered to be the precursor of all steroids. Due to their low hydrophilicity, triterpenes were considered to be inactive for a long period of time; however, evidence regardin...

Borreria vertcillata is a woody perennial shrub with false-button weedy herb belonging to the family (Rubiaceae), used for treating/curing various forms of diseases across world since ancient times. Qualitative phytochemical screening pulverized whole plant was carried out using four different solvent extracts (N-hexane, chloroform, ethyl-acetate and methanol). The phytochemicals screeened cont...