Recent studies on betulinic acid and its biological and pharmacological activity



Dear Editor,

Betulinic acid (3β-hydroxy-lup-20(29)-en-28-oic acid, BA), a pentacyclic lupane-type triterpene, is widely distributed in the plant kingdom (Mukherjee et al., 2006[20]; Fulda, 2008[8]). Johann Tobias Lowitz isolated the reduced form of BA from plants in 1788 and found that it was a prominent outer-bark constituent in white-barked birch trees (Bag and Dash, 2011[2]). BA has a wide range of biological and medicinal properties, including anti-human immunodeficiency virus (HIV), antibacterial, antimalarial, anti-inflammatory, anthelmintic, antinociceptive, anti-herpes simplex viruses-1 (HSV-1), immune-modulatory, antiangiogenic, and anticancer activity (Yogeeswari and Sriram, 2005[38]; Gheorgheosu et al, 2014[10]). Furthermore, the anti-tumor activity of BA can help overcome resistance by inducing apoptosis in a variety of human cancers.

Semi-synthetic derivatives of natural plant products continue to play an important role in drug discovery and development (Pan et al., 2010[22]). To improve the potency of BA, many derivatives have been synthesized and evaluated for biological/medicinal applications (Jonnalagadda et al., 2013[13]; Csuk, 2014[5]). Because of its range of biological properties, BA has attracted much attention in recent years in the pharmaceutical industry. Here, we summarize key recent studies performed to evaluate the biological and pharmacological activities of BA and its derivatives (Table 1(Tab. 1)). (References in Table 1: Lingaraju et al., 2015[18]; Xu et al., 2014[35]; Kim et al., 2014[15]; Tiwari et al, 2014[29]; Xia et al., 2014[34]; Soica et al., 2014[27]; Sousa et al., 2014[28]; Jin et al., 2014[12]; Godugu et al., 2014[11]; Park et al., 2014[23]; Yi et al., 2014[37]; Castro et al., 2014[4]; Afzal et al., 2014[1]; Gao et al., 2014[9]; Zhao et al., 2013[39]; Ding et al., 2013[7]; Baratto et al., 2013[3]; Damle et al., 2013[6]; Li et al., 2013[17]; Wan et al., 2013[31]; Kaur and Arora, 2013[14]; Quan et al., 2013[25]; Reiner et al., 2013[26]; Qian et al., 2012[24]; Yang et al., 2012[36]; Wang et al., 2012[33]; Tzakos et al., 2012[30]; Liu and Luo, 2012[19]; Nader and Baraka, 2012[21]; Wan et al., 2012[32]; Kim et al., 2012[15]).

Table 1. Recent studies on betulinic acid and its biological and pharmacological activities.

Acknowledgements

This study was supported by the Regional Innovation Center for Dental Science & Engineering, Chosun University, Gwangju, Korea (B0008940).