PMID:
16003746 [PubMed - indexed for MEDLINE]
Pharmacological
properties of the ubiquitous natural product betulin.
Faculty of Pharmacy, Division of
Pharmaceutical Chemistry, University of Helsinki , Helsinki , Finland .
Betulin (lup-20(29)-ene-3beta,28-diol) is an
abundant naturally occurring triterpene and it is found predominantly in bushes
and trees forming the principal extractive (up to 30% of dry weight) of the bark of birch trees .
Presently, there is no significant use for this easily isolable compound, which
makes it a potentially important raw material for polymers and a precursor of
biologically active compounds. Betulin
can be easily converted to betulinic acid, which possesses a wide spectrum of
biological and pharmacological activities. Betulinic acid has antimalarial and
anti-inflammatory activities. Betulinic acid and its derivatives have
especially shown anti-HIV activity and cytotoxicity against a variety
of tumor cell lines comparable to some clinically used drugs .
A new mechanism of action has been confirmed for some of the most promising
anti-HIV derivatives, which makes them potentially useful additives to the
current anti-HIV therapy. Betulinic
acid is specifically cytotoxic to several tumor cell lines by inducing
apoptosis in cells. Moreover, it is non-toxic up to 500 mg/kg body weight in
mice. The literature concerning derivatization of betulin for
structure-activity relationship (SAR) studies and its pharmacological
properties is reviewed.
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