Skip to main page content
U.S. flag

An official website of the United States government

Dot gov

The .gov means it’s official.
Federal government websites often end in .gov or .mil. Before sharing sensitive information, make sure you’re on a federal government site.

Https

The site is secure.
The https:// ensures that you are connecting to the official website and that any information you provide is encrypted and transmitted securely.

Access keys NCBI Homepage MyNCBI Homepage Main Content Main Navigation
Review
. 2019 Jun;22(2):55-67.
doi: 10.3831/KPI.201.22.007. Epub 2019 Jun 30.

Role of Pentacyclic Triterpenoids in Chemoprevention and Anticancer Treatment: An Overview on Targets and Underling Mechanisms

Mahavir H Ghante  1 , Prasad G Jamkhande  1
Affiliations
Review

Role of Pentacyclic Triterpenoids in Chemoprevention and Anticancer Treatment: An Overview on Targets and Underling Mechanisms

Mahavir H Ghante et al. J Pharmacopuncture. 2019 Jun.

Abstract

The incidences of cancer are continuously increasing worldwide, affecting life of millions of people. Several factors associated with the internal and external environment are responsible for this deadly disease. The key internal determinants like abnormal hormonal regulation, genetic mutations and external determinants such as lifestyle and occupational factors enhances onset of cancer. From the ancient time, plants were remained as the most trusted source of medicine for the treatment of diverse disease conditions. Extensive studies have been performed for the discovery of effective anticancer agent from the plant and still it is going on. Pentacyclic triterpenoids are biologically active phytochemicals having a different range of activities such as anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, anti-hypertensive, antiulcerogenic and anti-tumor. These compounds generally contain ursane, oleanane, lupane and friedelane as a chief skeleton of pentacyclic triterpenoids which are generally present in higher plants. Isoprene unit, phytochemical, with good antitumor/anticancer activity is required for the biosynthesis of pentacyclic triterpenoids. Mechanisms such as cytotoxicity, DNA polymerase inhibition, regulation of apoptosis, change in signal transductions, interfere with angiogenesis and dedifferentiation, antiproliferative activity and metastasis inhibition are might be responsible for their anticancer effect. Present review spotlights diverse targets, mechanisms and pathways of pentacyclic triterpenoids responsible for anticancer effect.

Keywords: anti-angiogenic; antiproliferative; apoptosis; cancer; isoprene; pentacyclic triterpenoids.

PubMed Disclaimer

Conflict of interest statement

Conflict of interest There is no conflict of interest and disclosures associated with the manuscript.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Altered gene expression associated cancer development.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Chemical structure of squalene.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Principal pathways such as angiogenesis, metastasis, proliferation and growth factors as targets for the treatment of cancer.
Figure 4
Figure 4
Extrinsic Pathway (Death receptor pathway) is activated when a tumor necrosis factor (TNF) receptor is stimulated by particular death ligands that recruits proteins (adaptor protein) and activate initiator caspases (caspases 8) which further activate effector caspases (caspase 3). Whereas, intrinsic pathway (mitochondrial pathway) activate other signals, such as being DNA damage which cannot be repaired, the p53 (tumor suppressor gene) protein activates a subpathway that leads to release of cytochrome c from the mitochondrion, with successive participation of the apoptosome [a complex of procaspase 9, cytochrome c and apoptic activating protease factor-1 (Apaf-1)], and activation of caspasen 3 (initiator caspases) and caspase 9. R→ Receptor for growth factors, trophic factor and cell to cell contact factor (Continuous stimulation to this receptor is necessary for cell survival). Fas ligand→Trans membrane receptor that induce apoptosis. miRNAs→ micro RNAs that negatively regulate gene expression. p53→ tumor suppressor protein.
See this image and copyright information in PMC

Similar articles

See all similar articles

Cited by

See all "Cited by" articles

References

    1. Loney T, Aw TC, Handysides DG, Ali R, Blair I, Grivna M, Shah SM, et al. An analysis of the health status of the United Arab Emirates: the ‘Big 4’public health issues. Global health action. 2013;6:1–8. doi: 10.3402/gha.v6i0.20100. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Dhanamani M, Devi SL, Kannan S. Ethnomedicinal plants for cancer therapy - a review. Hygeia JD Med. 2011;3:1–10.
    1. Singh MP, Kumar V, Agarwal A, Kumar R, Bhatt ML, Misra S. Clinico-epidemiological study of oral squamous cell carcinoma: A tertiary care centre study in North India. J Oral Biol Craniofac Res. 2016;6:32–35. doi: 10.1016/j.jobcr.2015.11.002. - DOI - PMC - PubMed
    1. Rang HP, Ritter JM, Flower RJ. Rang and Dale’s Pharmacology: With student consult online access: Elsevier Health Sciences. 7th edition. Churchill Livingstone; Edinburgh: 2012.
    1. Wang FZ, Yang NN, Zhao YL, Liu QQ, Fei HR, Zhang JG. PF-04691502 triggers cell cycle arrest, apoptosis and inhibits the angiogenesis in hepatocellular carcinoma cells. Toxicol Lett. 2013;220:150–156. doi: 10.1016/j.toxlet.2013.04.018. - DOI - PubMed

LinkOut - more resources