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Review
. 2022 Aug 10;23(16):8896.
doi: 10.3390/ijms23168896.

Recent Advances Regarding the Molecular Mechanisms of Triterpenic Acids: A Review (Part II)

Marius Mioc  1   2 , Alexandra Prodea  1   2 , Roxana Racoviceanu  1   2 , Alexandra Mioc  2   3 , Roxana Ghiulai  1   2 , Andreea Milan  1   2 , Mirela Voicu  2   4 , Gabriel Mardale  1   2 , Codruța Șoica  1   2
Affiliations
Review

Recent Advances Regarding the Molecular Mechanisms of Triterpenic Acids: A Review (Part II)

Marius Mioc et al. Int J Mol Sci. .

Abstract

Triterpenic acids are a widespread class of phytocompounds which have been found to possess valuable therapeutic properties such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, hepatoprotective, cardioprotective, antidiabetic, neuroprotective, lipolytic, antiviral, and antiparasitic effects. They are a subclass of triterpenes bearing a characteristic lipophilic structure that imprints unfavorable in vivo properties which subsequently limit their applications. The early investigation of the mechanism of action (MOA) of a drug candidate can provide valuable information regarding the possible side effects and drug interactions that may occur after administration. The current paper aimed to summarize the most recent (last 5 years) studies regarding the MOA of betulinic acid, boswellic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid, madecassic acid, moronic acid, and pomolic acid in order to provide scientists with updated and accessible material on the topic that could contribute to the development of future studies; the paper stands as the sequel of our previously published paper regarding the MOA of triterpenic acids with therapeutic value. The recent literature published on the topic has highlighted the role of triterpenic acids in several signaling pathways including PI3/AKT/mTOR, TNF-alpha/NF-kappa B, JNK-p38, HIF-α/AMPK, and Grb2/Sos/Ras/MAPK, which trigger their various biological activities.

Keywords: apoptosis; betulinic acid; boswellic acid; glycyrrhetinic acid; madecassic acid; maslinic acid; molecular mechanism; moronic acid; pentacyclic triterpenes; pomolic acid; triterpenic acids.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflict of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Flow diagram describing the data selection process.
Figure 2
Figure 2
Structure of betulinic acid.
Figure 3
Figure 3
Biological activities of betulinic acid. Parts of the figure were drawn by using pictures from Servier Medical Art. Servier Medical Art by Servier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/; accessed on 2 August 2022).
Figure 4
Figure 4
Schematic representation of the reported anticancer mechanisms of betulinic acid; key signaling pathways targeted. Created with BioRender.com (accessed on 23 June 2022).
Figure 5
Figure 5
Schematic representation of the reported anti-inflammatory mechanisms of betulinic acid; key signaling pathways targeted. Created with BioRender.com (accessed on 23 June 2022).
Figure 6
Figure 6
Structure of boswellic acid.
Figure 7
Figure 7
Biological activities of boswellic acid. Parts of the figure were drawn by using pictures from Servier Medical Art. Servier Medical Art by Servier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, accessed on 2 August 2022).
Figure 8
Figure 8
Schematic representation of the reported anti-inflammatory mechanisms of boswellic acid; key signaling pathways targeted. Created with BioRender.com (accessed on 23 June 2022).
Figure 9
Figure 9
Structure of corosolic acid.
Figure 10
Figure 10
Structure of glycyrrhetinic acid.
Figure 11
Figure 11
Biological activities of glycyrrhetinic acid. Parts of the figure were drawn by using pictures from Servier Medical Art. Servier Medical Art by Servier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, accessed on 2 August 2022).
Figure 12
Figure 12
Schematic representation of the reported hepatoprotective mechanisms of glycyrrhetinic acid; key signaling pathways targeted. Created with BioRender.com (accessed on 23 June 2022).
Figure 13
Figure 13
Structure of madecassic acid.
Figure 14
Figure 14
Structure of maslinic acid.
Figure 15
Figure 15
Biological activities of maslinic acid. Parts of the figure were drawn by using pictures from Servier Medical Art. Servier Medical Art by Servier is licensed under a Creative Commons Attribution 3.0 Unported License (https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/3.0/, accessed on 2 August 2022).
Figure 16
Figure 16
Structure of pomolic acid.
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