Parthenolide is a

sesquiterpene lactone Sesquiterpene lactones (SLs) are a class of sesquiterpenoids that contain a lactone ring. They are most often found in plants of the family Asteraceae (daisies, asters). Other plant families with SLs are Umbelliferae (celery, parsley, carrots) ...

of the germacranolide class which occurs naturally in the plant feverfew ('' Tanacetum parthenium''), after which it is named, and in the closely related tansy (''

Tanacetum vulgare Tansy (''Tanacetum vulgare'') is a perennial, herbaceous flowering plant in the genus ''Tanacetum'' in the Asteraceae, aster family, native to temperate Europe and Asia. It has been introduced to other parts of the world, including North Ameri ...

''). It is found in highest concentration in the flowers and fruit. Parthenolide's molecular structure depiction is often incorrect regarding the stereochemistry of the epoxide, although X-ray single crystal structures are available. Lack of

solubility In chemistry, solubility is the ability of a chemical substance, substance, the solute, to form a solution (chemistry), solution with another substance, the solvent. Insolubility is the opposite property, the inability of the solute to form su ...

in water and

bioavailability In pharmacology, bioavailability is a subcategory of absorption and is the fraction (%) of an administered drug that reaches the systemic circulation. By definition, when a medication is administered intravenously, its bioavailability is 100%. H ...

limits the potential of parthenolide as a drug.

References

{{HDAC inhibitors Adiponectin receptor agonists Epoxides Histone deacetylase inhibitors Sesquiterpene lactones