Betulinic acid: A natural product with anticancer activity

✍ Scribed by Simone Fulda

• Publisher: John Wiley and Sons
• Year: 2009
• Tongue: English
• Weight: 284 KB
• Volume: 53
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 1613-4125
• DOI: 10.1002/mnfr.200700491

✦ Synopsis

Abstract

Betulinic acid (BA) is a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpene that exhibits a variety of biological activities including potent antitumor properties. This anticancer activity has been linked to its ability to directly trigger mitochondrial membrane permeabilization, a central event in the apoptotic process that seals the cell's fate. In contrast to the potent cytotoxicity of BA against a variety of cancer types, nonmalignant cells and normal tissue remained relatively resistant to BA, indicating a therapeutic window. Since agents that exert a direct action on mitochondria may trigger cell death under circumstances in which standard chemotherapeutics fail, there is increasing interest to develop such compounds as experimental cancer therapeutics. Thus, mitochondrion‐targeted agents such as BA hold great promise as a novel approach to bypass certain forms of drug resistance in human cancers.