Advances in triterpene drug discovery.

Trends Pharmacol Sci

Department of Biochemistry and Metabolism, John Innes Centre, Norwich Research Park, Colney Lane, Norwich NR4 7UH, UK. Electronic address:

Published: November 2024

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.

Download full-text PDF

Source
http://dx.doi.org/10.1016/j.tips.2024.10.003DOI Listing

Publication Analysis

Top Keywords

advances triterpene
4
triterpene drug
4
drug discovery
4
discovery triterpenes
4
triterpenes structurally
4
structurally complex
4
complex natural
4
natural products
4
products promising
4
promising therapeutic
4

Similar Publications

Deciphering the biosynthetic pathway of triterpene saponins in Prunella vulgaris.

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 PDF

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 PDF

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 PDF

Recent trends in the elucidation of complex triterpene biosynthetic pathways in horticultural trees.

Hortic 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 PDF

Two-Component Hydrogels Built from Chinese Herbal Medicine-Derived Glycyrrhizic Acid and Puerarin: Assembly Mechanism, Self-Healing Properties, and Selective Antibacterial Activity.

ACS 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.

View Article and Find Full Text PDF

Want AI Summaries of new PubMed Abstracts delivered to your In-box?

Enter search terms and have AI summaries delivered each week - change queries or unsubscribe any time!