Betulinic Acid and its Anticancer Effects

Abstract

In recent years, interest in naturally occurring compounds in plants has been increasing. Due to the benefits of these compounds, various studies have been carried out for their therapeutic use in cancer treatment as well as in daily use. These studies have aimed to develop chemotherapeutics that are natural and can stimulate apoptosis due to the side effects of chemotherapeutics used in current cancer treatments. One of these compounds, betulinic acid, is lupane-type pentacyclic triterpenoid, a secondary metab-olite found in the bark of various trees. Betulinic acid has strong anticancer properties as well as antiviral and anti-inflammatory effects. It performs its anticancer functions by promoting the mi-tochondrial apoptosis, regulating cell cycle and angiogenesis, and activating or deactivating many pathways which are important for cancer development. Molecules that directly affect mitochondria such as betulinic acid, hold great promise in preventing drug re-sistance that may occur in the treatment process. In addition, the fact that betulinic acid directly affects cancer cells and has no toxic effect on healthy cells makes it a potential anticancer molecule in developing chemotherapy strategies.This review aims to discuss the structural and biological properties of betulinic acid and the anticancer effects in various cancer types.

Keywords

• Betulinic acid
• cancer
• apoptosis

Betülinik Asit ve Antikanser Etkiler

Abstract

Son yıllarda, bitkilerin yapısında doğal olarak bulunan bileşiklere duyulan ilgi giderek artmaktadır. Bu bileşiklerin sağladıkları fay-dalar nedeniyle günlük kullanımın yanı sıra kanser tedavisinde terapötik olarak kullanılmasına yönelik çeşitli çalışmalar yapılmak-tadır. Bu çalışmalar, güncel kanser tedavilerinde kullanılan kemo-terapötiklerin ortaya çıkardığı yan etkiler nedeniyle doğal kaynaklı ve apoptozu uyarabilen kemoterapötiklerin geliştirilmesini amaç-lamaktadır. Bu bileşiklerden biri olan betülinik asit, lupan tipi pen-tasiklik triterpenoid olup çeşitli ağaçların kabuklarında bulunan bir sekonder metabolittir. Betülinik asit, antiviral ve antiinflamatuvar etkiler gibi biyolojik aktivitelerin yanı sıra güçlü bir antikanser ak-tiviteye sahiptir. Bu antikanser aktivitesini, mitokondriyal apopto-zu teşvik ederek, hücre siklusunu ve anjiyogenezi düzenleyerek ve kanser gelişimi için önemli birçok yolağı aktive veya inaktive ederek gerçekleştirir. Betülinik asit gibi doğrudan mitokondriyi et-kileyen moleküller, tedavi sürecinde oluşabilecek ilaç direncini en-gellemek için büyük umut vaad etmektedir. Ayrıca betülinik asidin kanser hücrelerini doğrudan etkileyip sağlıklı hücrelere karşı toksik etkisinin olmaması geliştirilmekte olan kemoterapi stratejilerinde onu potansiyel antikanser molekül haline getirmektedir. Bu derlemede, betülinik asidin yapısal ve biyolojik özellikleri ile çeşitli kanser türlerindeki antikanser etkilerinin tartışılması amaç-lanmaktadır.

Keywords

• Betülinik asit
• kanser
• apoptoz

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