Alfaro-Almaguer Juan Antonio, Mejía-Manzano Luis Alberto, González-Valdez José
School of Engineering and Science, Tecnologico de Monterrey, Campus Monterrey, Monterrey 64849, Mexico.
Plants (Basel). 2022 Aug 23;11(17):2184. doi: 10.3390/plants11172184.
Native Mexican plants are a wide source of bioactive compounds such as pentacyclic triterpenes. Pentacyclic triterpenes biosynthesized through the mevalonate (MVA) and the 2-C-methyl-D-erythritol-phosphate (MEP) metabolic pathways are highlighted by their diverse biological activity. Compounds belonging to the oleanane, ursane, and lupane groups have been identified in about 33 Mexican plants, located geographically in the southwest of Mexico. The works addressing these findings have reported 45 compounds that mainly show antimicrobial activity, followed by anti-inflammatory, cytotoxic, anxiolytic, hypoglycemic, and growth-stimulating or allelopathic activities. Extraction by maceration and Soxhlet with organic solvents and consecutive chromatography of silica gel have been used for their whole or partial purification. Nanoparticles and nanoemulsions are the vehicles used in Mexican formulations for drug delivery of the pentacyclic triterpenes until now. Sustainable extraction, formulation, regulation, isolation, characterization, and bioassay facilities are areas of opportunity in pentacyclic triterpenes research in Mexico while the presence of plant and human resources and traditional knowledge are strengths. The present review discusses the generalities of the pentacyclic triterpene (definition, biogenic classification, and biosynthesis), a summary of the last two decades of research on the compounds identified and their evaluated bioactivity, the generalities about the extraction and purification methods used, drug delivery aspects, and a critical analysis of the advantages and limitations of research carried out in this way.
墨西哥本土植物是生物活性化合物的广泛来源，如五环三萜。通过甲羟戊酸（MVA）和2-C-甲基-D-赤藓糖醇磷酸（MEP）代谢途径生物合成的五环三萜因其多样的生物活性而备受关注。在墨西哥西南部地理区域的约33种墨西哥植物中已鉴定出属于齐墩果烷、乌苏烷和羽扇豆烷类的化合物。涉及这些发现的研究报告了45种化合物，这些化合物主要表现出抗菌活性，其次是抗炎、细胞毒性、抗焦虑、降血糖以及生长刺激或化感活性。通过用有机溶剂浸渍和索氏提取以及硅胶连续色谱法进行提取，用于其全部或部分纯化。纳米颗粒和纳米乳液是迄今为止墨西哥制剂中用于五环三萜药物递送的载体。可持续提取、制剂、监管、分离、表征和生物测定设施是墨西哥五环三萜研究中的机遇领域，而植物和人力资源以及传统知识的存在则是优势。本综述讨论了五环三萜的概述（定义、生源分类和生物合成）、对已鉴定化合物及其评估的生物活性的过去二十年研究总结、所用提取和纯化方法的概述、药物递送方面，以及对以这种方式进行的研究的优缺点的批判性分析。
