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Triterpenoid
Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squalene, the precursor to all steroids. Structures Triterpenes exist in a great variety of structures. Nearly 200 different skeletons have been identified. These skeletons may be broadly divided according to the number of rings present. In general pentacyclic structures (5 rings) tend to dominate. Squalene is biosynthesized through the head-to-head condensation of two farnesyl pyrophosphate units. This coupling converts a pair of C15 components into a C30 product. Squalene serves as precursor for the formation of many triterpenoids, including bacterial hopanoids and eukaryotic sterols. Triterpenoids By definition triterpenoids are triterpenes that possess heteroatoms, usually oxygen. The terms ''triterpene'' and ''triterpenoid'' ofte ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Hopanoids
Hopanoids are a diverse subclass of triterpenoids with the same hydrocarbon skeleton as the compound hopane. This group of pentacyclic molecules therefore refers to simple hopenes, hopanols and hopanes, but also to extensively functionalized derivatives such as bacteriohopanepolyols (BHPs) and hopanoids covalently attached to lipid A. The first known hopanoid, hydroxyhopanone, was isolated by two chemists at The National Gallery, London working on the chemistry of dammar gum, a natural resin used as a varnish for paintings. While hopanoids are often assumed to be made only in bacteria, their name actually comes from the abundance of hopanoid compounds in the resin of plants from the genus ''Hopea''. In turn, this genus is named after John Hope, the first Regius Keeper of the Royal Botanic Garden, Edinburgh. Since their initial discovery in an angiosperm, hopanoids have been found in plasma membranes of bacteria, lichens, bryophytes, ferns, tropical trees and fungi. Hopanoids ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Oleanane
Oleanane is a natural triterpenoid. It is commonly found in woody angiosperms and as a result is often used as an indicator of these plants in the fossil record. It is a member of the oleanoid series, which consists of pentacyclic triterpenoids (such as beta-amyrin and taxerol) where all rings are six-membered. Structure Oleanane is a pentacyclic triterpenoid, a class of molecules made up of six connected isoprene units. The naming of both the ring structures and individual carbon atoms in oleanane is the same as in steroid A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and ...s. As such, it consists of a A, B, C, D, and E ring, all of which are six-membered rings. The structure of oleanane contains a number of different methyl groups, that vary in orientation between different ole ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cucurbitane
Cucurbitane is a class of chemical compounds with formula (CAS number 65441-59-0). It is a polycyclic hydrocarbon, specifically triterpene. It is also an isomer of lanostane (specifically 19(10→9β)-abeolanostane), from which it differs by the formal shift of a methyl group (carbon number 19) from the 10 to the 9β position in the standard steroid numbering scheme.Satish Kumar and Raj Kumar (1991), ''Dictionary of Biochemistry''. Anmol Publications, India The name is applied to two stereoisomers, distinguished by the prefixes 5α- and 5β-, which differ by the handedness of the bonds at a particular carbon atom (number 5 in the standard steroid numbering scheme). File:5alpha-cucurbitane.svg, 5α-Cucurbitane File:5beta-cucurbitane.svg, 5β-Cucurbitane Derivatives Natural compounds Compounds with the basic cucurbitane skeleton are found in many plants, and some are important phytopharmaceuticals. Natural cucurbitane-related compounds include: Named * Balsaminapentaol ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cucurbitacin
Cucurbitacin is a class of biochemical compounds that some plants – notably members of the pumpkin and gourd family, Cucurbitaceae – produce and which function as a defence against herbivores. Cucurbitacins are chemically classified as triterpenes, formally derived from cucurbitane, a triterpene hydrocarbon – specifically, from the unsaturated variant cucurbit-5-ene, or 19(10→9β)-abeo-10α-lanost-5-ene. They often occur as glycosides. They and their derivatives have been found in many plant families (including Brassicaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Begoniaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Datiscaceae, Desfontainiaceae, Polemoniaceae, Primulaceae, Rubiaceae, Sterculiaceae, Rosaceae, and Thymelaeaceae), in some mushrooms (including Russula and Hebeloma) and even in some marine mollusks. Cucurbitacins may be a taste deterrent in plants foraged by some animals and in some edible plants preferred by humans, like cucumbers and zucchinis. In laboratory researc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Steroid
A steroid is a biologically active organic compound with four rings arranged in a specific molecular configuration. Steroids have two principal biological functions: as important components of cell membranes that alter membrane fluidity; and as signaling molecules. Hundreds of steroids are found in plants, animals and fungi. All steroids are manufactured in cells from the sterols lanosterol ( opisthokonts) or cycloartenol (plants). Lanosterol and cycloartenol are derived from the cyclization of the triterpene squalene. The steroid core structure is typically composed of seventeen carbon atoms, bonded in four " fused" rings: three six-member cyclohexane rings (rings A, B and C in the first illustration) and one five-member cyclopentane ring (the D ring). Steroids vary by the functional groups attached to this four-ring core and by the oxidation state of the rings. Sterols are forms of steroids with a hydroxy group at position three and a skeleton derived from cho ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cucurbitacin
Cucurbitacin is a class of biochemical compounds that some plants – notably members of the pumpkin and gourd family, Cucurbitaceae – produce and which function as a defence against herbivores. Cucurbitacins are chemically classified as triterpenes, formally derived from cucurbitane, a triterpene hydrocarbon – specifically, from the unsaturated variant cucurbit-5-ene, or 19(10→9β)-abeo-10α-lanost-5-ene. They often occur as glycosides. They and their derivatives have been found in many plant families (including Brassicaceae, Cucurbitaceae, Scrophulariaceae, Begoniaceae, Elaeocarpaceae, Datiscaceae, Desfontainiaceae, Polemoniaceae, Primulaceae, Rubiaceae, Sterculiaceae, Rosaceae, and Thymelaeaceae), in some mushrooms (including Russula and Hebeloma) and even in some marine mollusks. Cucurbitacins may be a taste deterrent in plants foraged by some animals and in some edible plants preferred by humans, like cucumbers and zucchinis. In laboratory researc ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Cycloartenol
Cycloartenol is an important triterpenoid of the sterol class which is found in plants. It is the starting point for the synthesis of almost all plant steroids, making them chemically distinct from the steroids of fungi and animals, which are, instead, produced from lanosterol. Synthesis The biosynthesis of cycloartenol starts from the triterpenoid squalene. It is the first precursor in the biosynthesis of other stanols and sterols, referred to as phytostanols and phytosterols in photosynthetic Photosynthesis is a process used by plants and other organisms to convert light energy into chemical energy that, through cellular respiration, can later be released to fuel the organism's activities. Some of this chemical energy is stored in c ... organisms and plants. The identities and distribution of phytostanols and phytosterols is characteristic of a plant species. References Sterols Triterpenes Cyclopropanes {{Alcohol-stub ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Saponin
Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed but found particularly in soapwort (genus Saponaria), a flowering plant, the soapbark tree ('' Quillaja saponaria'') and soybeans ('' Glycine max'' L.). They are used in soaps, medicinals, fire extinguishers, speciously as dietary supplements, for synthesis of steroids, and in carbonated beverages (the head on a mug of root beer). Structurally, they are glycosides, sugars bonded to another organic molecule, usually a steroid or triterpene, a steroid building block. Saponins are both water and fat soluble, which gives them their useful soap properties. Some examples of these chemicals are glycyrrhizin, licorice flavoring; and quillaia (alt. quillaja), a bark extract used in beverages. Uses The saponins are a subclass of terpenoids, the ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Malabaricane
The molecule malabaricane and its derivatives, the malabaricanes, are triterpene and triterpenoid compounds found in various organisms. They are named after the rain forest tree ''Ailanthus malabarica'' (''Ailanthus triphysa''), from which they were first isolated in 1967 by scientists at the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, India. Later, great varieties of malabaricanes were discovered in other organisms, mostly in marine sponges such as ''Rhabdastrella globostellata''. Isomalabaricanes are malabaricanes in which the three carbon rings of the molecule are connected in '' trans−syn−trans'' conformation, as opposed to other malabaricanes, where the rings are connected in ''trans−anti−trans'' conformation. They are of particular research interest because many of them have been reported to show anti-tumour activity in cell culture Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their na ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Triterpenoid Saponin
Saponins (Latin "sapon", soap + "-in", one of), also selectively referred to as triterpene glycosides, are bitter-tasting usually toxic plant-derived organic chemicals that have a foamy quality when agitated in water. They are widely distributed but found particularly in soapwort (genus Saponaria), a flowering plant, the soapbark tree ('' Quillaja saponaria'') and soybeans (''Glycine max'' L.). They are used in soaps, medicinals, fire extinguishers, speciously as dietary supplements, for synthesis of steroids, and in carbonated beverages (the head on a mug of root beer). Structurally, they are glycosides, sugars bonded to another organic molecule, usually a steroid or triterpene, a steroid building block. Saponins are both water and fat soluble, which gives them their useful soap properties. Some examples of these chemicals are glycyrrhizin, licorice flavoring; and quillaia (alt. quillaja), a bark extract used in beverages. Uses The saponins are a subclass of terpenoids, the lar ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
Ursolic Acid
Ursolic acid (sometimes referred to as urson, prunol, malol, or 3β-hydroxyurs-12-en-28-oic acid), is a pentacyclic triterpenoid identified in the epicuticular waxes of apples as early as 1920 and widely found in the peels of fruits, as well as in herbs and spices like rosemary and thyme. Natural occurrence Ursolic acid is present in many plants, such as ''Mirabilis jalapa'', as well as in many fruits and herbs used in daily life (e.g. apples, basil and holy basil, bilberries, cranberries, elder flower, peppermint, rosemary, lavender, oregano, thyme, hawthorn, and prunes). Apple peels contain large quantities of ursolic acid and related compounds. Potential biochemical effects A number of potential biochemical effects of ursolic acid have been investigated, but there has been no clinical study demonstrating benefits to human health. ''In vitro'', ursolic acid inhibits the proliferation of various cancer cell types by inhibiting the STAT3 activation pathway, and may als ... [...More Info...] [...Related Items...] OR: [Wikipedia] [Google] [Baidu] |
