Anticancer Potential of Betulonic Acid Derivatives

International Journal of Molecular Sciences 2021
Adelina Lombrea, Alexandra Denisa Scurtu, Stefana Avram, Ioana Zinuca Pavel, Māris Turks, Jevgeņija Lugiņina, Uldis Peipiņš, Cristina Adriana Dehelean, Codruta Soica, Corina Danciu

Clinical trials have evidenced that several natural compounds, belonging to the phytochemical classes of alkaloids, terpenes, phenols and flavonoids, are effective for the management of various types of cancer. Latest research has proven that natural products and their semisynthetic variants may serve as a starting point for new drug candidates with a diversity of biological and pharmacological activities, designed to improve bioavailability, overcome cellular resistance, and enhance therapeutic efficacy. This review was designed to bring an update regarding the anticancer potential of betulonic acid and its semisynthetic derivatives. Chemical derivative structures of betulonic acid including amide, thiol, and piperidine groups, exert an amplification of the in vitro anticancer potential of betulonic acid. With the need for more mechanistic and in vivo data, some derivatives of betulonic acids may represent promising anticancer agents.

Keywords
pentacyclic triterpenes; betulonic acid derivatives; natural compounds; proliferation; apoptosis; in vitro; in vivo; cancer
DOI
10.3390/ijms22073676
Hyperlink
https://www.mdpi.com/1422-0067/22/7/3676/htm

Lombrea, A., Scurtu, A., Avram, S., Pavel, I., Turks, M., Lugiņina, J., Peipiņš, U., Dehelean, C., Soica, C., Danciu, C. Anticancer Potential of Betulonic Acid Derivatives. International Journal of Molecular Sciences, 2021, Vol. 22, pp.3676-3676. ISSN 1661-6596. e-ISSN 1422-0067. Available from: doi:10.3390/ijms22073676

Publication language
English (en)