Triterpenes are structurally complex natural products with promising therapeutic properties. Recalcitrance to chemical synthesis has hindered their use in drug development. Recent advances now make it possible to access and harness triterpene structural diversity using engineering biology approaches, enabling the discovery and optimisation of a new generation of drug leads.
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http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2024.10.003 | DOI Listing |
Plant J
January 2025
College of Horticulture, Bioinformatics Center, Academy for Advanced Interdisciplinary Studies, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing, 210095, China.
The traditional Chinese medicinal plant Prunella vulgaris contains numerous triterpene saponin metabolites, notably ursolic and oleanolic acid saponins, which have significant pharmacological values. Despite their importance, the genes responsible for synthesizing these triterpene saponins in P. vulgaris remain unidentified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFMar Drugs
January 2025
Shandong Laboratory of Yantai Drug Discovery, Bohai Rim Advanced Research Institute for Drug Discovery, Yantai 264117, China.
Echinoderms, a diverse group of marine invertebrates including starfish, sea urchins, and sea cucumbers, have been recognized as prolific sources of structurally diverse natural products. In the past five years, remarkable progress has been made in the isolation, structural elucidation, and pharmacological assessment of these bioactive compounds. These metabolites, including polysaccharides, triterpenoids, steroids, and peptides, demonstrate potent bioactivities such as anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and antimicrobial effects, providing valuable insights and scaffolds for drug discovery.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFJ Food Sci
January 2025
College of Pharmacy, Changchun University of Chinese Medicine, Changchun, China.
Ginseng and its processed products are valued as health foods for their nutritional benefits. The traditional forms of processed ginseng include white ginseng, dali ginseng (DLG), red ginseng (RG), and black ginseng (BG). However, the impact of processing on the chemical composition and anti-tumor efficacy of these products is not well understood.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFHortic Res
January 2025
Metabolic engineering and Synthetic Biology Laboratory, Department of Natural Products, National Institute of Pharmaceutical Education and Research, S.A.S Nagar 160062, Punjab, India.
Triterpene (C30 isoprene compounds) represents the most structurally diverse class of natural products and has been extensively exploited in the food, medicine, and industrial sectors. Decades of research on medicinal triterpene biosynthetic pathways have revealed their roles in stress tolerance and shaping microbiota. However, the biological function and mechanism of triterpenes are not fully identified.
View Article and Find Full Text PDFACS Appl Mater Interfaces
January 2025
Advanced Interdisciplinary Institute of Environment and Ecology, Guangdong Provincial Key Laboratory of Wastewater Information Analysis and Early Warning, Beijing Normal University, Zhuhai 519087, P.R.China.
Chinese herbal medicine has offered a great treasure for discovering intrinsically bioactive low molecular weight gelators (LMWGs). Herein, the two-component hydrogels comprising glycyrrhizic acid (GA) and puerarin (PUE), the primary bioactive components, respectively, from herbs and are successfully prepared. Combined spectroscopic characterizations reveal that hydrogen bonds are formed between GA and PUE molecules, which further drives the growth of nanofiber assemblies into gel networks.
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