Departament de Farmacologia, Facultat de Farmàcia, Universitat de València, Av Vicent Andrés Estellés s/n 46100 Burjassot, Valencia, Spain.
J Ethnopharmacol. 2010 Mar 2;128(1):1-14. doi: 10.1016/j.jep.2009.12.045. Epub 2010 Jan 14.
Triterpenes, which comprise a broad chemical group of active principles, are implicated in the mechanisms of action and pharmacological effects of many medicinal plants used in folk medicine against diseases in which the immune system is implicated. They have been described as anti-inflammatory, antiviral, antimicrobial, and antitumoral agents, as well as being immunomodulator compounds. Several of them are implicated in the resolution of immune diseases, although their effects have not always been clearly correlated.
The aim of this review is to compile relevant data on the mechanisms of action of triterpenes isolated from active ethnomedicinal plants and their role in the resolution of diseases in which the immune system is implicated to examine the mechanism by which they are useful as ethnopharmacological medicines.
The selection of papers was made using the most relevant databases for the biomedical sciences on the basis of their ethnopharmacological use. We principally chose those studies that examined the resolution of allergic responses in vivo and those that studied the effects of the more relevant mediators implicated in the immune response in vitro.
The number of compounds actually studied is limited compared with the high number of principles that have been isolated and identified. Many studies focus on specific pathologies such cancer or inflammation, but in many cases they are clearly correlated with the immune response. Lanostanes, cucurbitanes, and oleananes are probably the most interesting groups; however, other compounds are also of potential importance.
Studies of specific mechanisms against mediators or transcription factors could be the objective for future research on ethnomedicinal plants used to combat immune diseases since the results obtained with cucurbitacins or derivatives of oleanolic acid support the use of different medicinal plants, thereby opening up a new frontier for future studies.
三萜类化合物是一类广泛的活性物质化学群，涉及许多民间医学中用于治疗涉及免疫系统疾病的药用植物的作用机制和药理作用。它们被描述为具有抗炎、抗病毒、抗菌和抗肿瘤作用的药物，同时也是免疫调节剂化合物。其中一些与免疫性疾病的缓解有关，尽管它们的作用并不总是明确相关。
本综述的目的是汇编从具有活性的民族药用植物中分离出的三萜类化合物的作用机制及其在缓解涉及免疫系统疾病中的作用的相关数据，以研究它们作为民族药理学药物的有用机制。
根据其民族药理学用途，使用最相关的生物医学科学数据库进行论文选择。我们主要选择那些研究体内过敏反应缓解的研究，以及研究与免疫反应相关的更重要介质的体外作用的研究。
与已分离和鉴定的大量原则相比，实际研究的化合物数量有限。许多研究集中在特定的病理学上，如癌症或炎症，但在许多情况下，它们与免疫反应明显相关。羊毛甾烷、苦瓜烷和齐墩果烷可能是最有趣的群体；然而，其他化合物也具有潜在的重要性。
针对介质或转录因子的特定机制的研究可能是针对用于治疗免疫性疾病的民族药用植物的未来研究的目标，因为苦瓜素或齐墩果酸衍生物的研究结果支持了不同药用植物的使用，从而为未来的研究开辟了新的前沿。
