Celastraceae family triterpenes from

As a general rule, the biosynthesis of skeletons belonging to the Celastraceae family is extremely specific, the triterpene-quinones and P-dihydro-agarofiiran type skeleton sesquiterpenes from these species having a notably high degree of oxidation. The presence of tritetpene-quinones indicates the biosynthetic specificity of the Celastraceae family since these compounds are synthesized in the roots and are virtually exclusive to the family. 

Lupane triterpenes are very common in the Celastraceae family. Esters of lupane triterpenes with aromatic acids have been isolated from others sources but in Celastraceae 0-caffeoyl esters are the most frequently found. C-3 position is the most common compromised with esterification and the stereochemistry of the ester moiety is usually p. 

Ursanes are a triterpene skeleton-type commonly isolated from plants of the Celastraceae family. 

Among the compounds related to triterpene recently isolated from the Celastraceae family cytotoxic cardenolides and a possible Diels-Alder adduct have been reported in the literature by Ankli et al. [59] and our research group [60]. 

Dimers are a class of compounds isolated from only seven species of Celastraceae family [8,88]. These triterpene dimers were found to be composed of one quinoid type and one aromatic type of triterpene derived from pristimerin, tingenone and / or their congeners joined together by two ether linkages formed between the two A rings or between the A and B rings. From the methylene chloride soluble portion of a methanolic extract of Maytenus chuchuhuasca, four dimeric compounds were isolated by Shirota et al. [88]. 

Oleanes comform the other group of triterpenes found in Celastraceae that- with friedelanes- are the most common skeletons isolated from the family. 

Compounds isolated from Celastraceae had showed cytotoxic activity [3,4]. This property has been related mainly to nor-triterpene quinonemethides, but cytotoxic triterpenes had also been reported [96]. As an example, both, tumor initiation and promotion are inhibited by two triterpenes commonly isolated from the family, ursolic and oleanolic acids [16]. 

Crude extracts of the root bark from Celastrus paniculatus Willd. (Celastraceae) demonstrated significant activity against cultured P. falciparum (93), and the active principle was shown to be pristimerin, a quinonoid triterpene. The family Simaroubaceae has also yielded a number of compounds with in vivo and in vitro antimalarial activity (94-96) including quassinoids. Bruceantin has been most extensively studied, but is very cytotoxic however, other quassinoids are relatively less toxic to cultured KB cells while retaining potent antimalarial activity (88). Plants from the Meliaceae are commonly used as febrifuges in Africa, and several limonoids from this family, such as nimbolide and gedunin, have also been found to produce moderate inhibition of cultured P. falciparum (97,98). 

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