Triterpenoids

Area of Science:

• Natural Product Chemistry
• Organic Chemistry
• Phytochemistry

Background:

• Triterpenoids are a diverse class of natural products with significant biological activities.
• Previous reviews have summarized triterpenoid research, with the last comprehensive review in 2018 covering up to 2015.

Purpose of the Study:

• To comprehensively review the isolation and structure determination of triterpenoids reported globally during the calendar year 2015.
• To catalog the diverse structural subclasses of triterpenoids discovered or characterized in 2015.

Main Methods:

• Literature search for scientific publications reporting new triterpenoids from natural sources in 2015.
• Analysis of reported isolation procedures, spectroscopic data (NMR, MS), and structure elucidation techniques.
• Classification of identified compounds into established triterpenoid skeletal frameworks.

Main Results:

• Over 320 references were cited, indicating extensive research activity.
• A wide array of triterpenoid subclasses were reported, including squalene derivatives, lanostanes, holostanes, cycloartanes, cucurbitanes, dammaranes, euphanes, tirucallanes, tetranortriterpenoids, quassinoids, lupanes, oleananes, friedelanes, ursanes, hopanes, serratanes, isomalabaricanes, and saponins.
• The year 2015 saw continued exploration and characterization of novel triterpenoid structures from various botanical sources.

Conclusions:

• The field of triterpenoid natural products remains highly active, with numerous new compounds being discovered and characterized annually.
• This review serves as a vital reference for researchers in natural product chemistry, providing a snapshot of triterpenoid research in 2015.
• The structural diversity highlights the ongoing importance of triterpenoids in medicinal chemistry and drug discovery efforts.