A review on chemistry, source and therapeutic potential of lambertianic acid

Lambertianic acid (LA) is a diterpene bioactive compound mainly purified from different species of Pinus. It is an optical isomer of another natural compound daniellic acid and was firstly purified from Pinus lambertiana. LA can be synthesized in laboratory from podocarpic acid. It has been reported to have potential health benefits in attenuating obesity, allergies and different cancers including breast, liver, lung and prostate cancer. It exhibits anticancer properties through inhibiting cancer cell proliferation and survival, and inducing apoptosis, targeting major signalling components including AKT, AMPK, NFkB, COX-2, STAT3, etc. Most of the studies with LA were done using in vitro models, thus warranting future investigations with animal models to evaluate its pharmacological effects such as antidiabetic, anti-inflammatory and neuroprotective effects as well as to explore the underlying molecular mechanisms and toxicological profile. This review describes the chemistry, source, purification and therapeutic potentials of LA and it can therefore be a suitable guideline for any future study with LA.