Beta-Elemonic acid

Oncol Rep. 2016 Jan;35(1):227-34.

β-Elemonic acid inhibits the cell proliferation of human lung adenocarcinoma A549 cells: The role of MAPK, ROS activation and glutathione depletion.[Pubmed: 26530631 ]

Beta-Elemonic acid, a known triterpene, exhibits anti-inflammatory effects, yet research on the pharmacological effects of Beta-Elemonic acid is rare.
METHODS AND RESULTS:
We investigated the anticancer effects and the related molecular mechanisms of Beta-Elemonic acid on human non-small cell lung cancer (NSCLC) A549 cells. The effects of Beta-Elemonic acid on the growth of A549 cells were studied using a 3-(4,5)-2,5-diphenyltetrazolium bromide (MTT) assay. Apoptosis was detected using Annexin V staining. The effect of Beta-Elemonic acid on the cell cycle of A549 cells was assessed using the propidium iodide method. The change in reactive oxygen species (ROS) was detected using a dichlorodihydrofluorescein diacetate (DCFH-DA) assay with microscopic examination. The expression levels of Bcl-2 family proteins, mitogen-activated protein kinase (MAPK) family proteins and cyclooxygenase 2 (COX-2) were detected using western blot analysis. Our data revealed that β-elemonic acid strongly induced human A549 lung cancer cell death in a dose- and time-dependent manner as determined by the MTT assay. Beta-Elemonic acid-induced cell death was considered to be apoptotic when the phosphatidylserine exposure was observed using Annexin V staining. The death of human A549 lung cancer cells was caused by apoptosis induced by activation of ROS activity, increase in the sub-G1 proportion, downregulation of Bcl-2 expression, upregulation of Bax expression and inhibition of the MAPK signaling pathways.
CONCLUSIONS:
These results clearly demonstrated that Beta-Elemonic acid inhibits proliferation by inducing hypoploid cells and cell apoptosis. Moreover, the anticancer effects of Beta-Elemonic acid were related to the MAPK signaling pathway, ROS activation and glutathione depletion in human A549 lung cancer cells.

J Nat Prod. 2005 Feb;68(2):189-93.

Bioactive constituents from Boswellia papyrifera.[Pubmed: 15730241 ]

METHODS AND RESULTS:
Phytochemical investigation of the stem bark extract of Boswellia papyrifera afforded two new stilbene glycosides, trans-4',5-dihydroxy-3-methoxystilbene-5-O-{alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->2)-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->6)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (1), trans-4',5-dihydroxy-3-methoxystilbene-5-O-[alpha-L-rhamnopyranosyl-(1-->6)]-beta-D-glucopyranoside (2), and a new triterpene, 3alpha-acetoxy-27-hydroxylup-20(29)-en-24-oic acid (3), along with five known compounds, 11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (4), Beta-Elemonic acid (7), 3alpha-acetoxy-11-keto-beta-boswellic acid (8), beta-boswellic acid (9), and beta-sitosterol (10).
CONCLUSIONS:
The stilbene glycosides exhibited significant inhibition of phosphodiesterase I and xanthine oxidase. The triterpenes (3-9) exhibited prolyl endopeptidase inhibitory activities.