Lupeol as a magical drug

Abstract

Lupeol, a triterpene found in white cabbage, green pepper, strawberry, olive, mangoes and grapes was reported to possess beneficial effects as a therapeutic and preventive agent for a range of disorders. Last 15 years have seen tremendous efforts by researchers worldwide to develop this wonderful molecule for its clinical use for the treatment of variety of disorders. Natural products and herbal remedies used in traditional folklore medicine have been the source of many medically beneficial drugs because they elicit fewer side effects, relatively cheap, affordable and claimed to be effective. However, in order to make these remedies acceptable to modern medicine, there is a need to scientifically evaluate them to identify the active principles and to understand their mechanism of action. Calotropis gigantea commonly known as milk weed or swallow-wort, is a medicinal plant widely used as a folk medicine in India. It exhibits a wide array of pharmacological activities including wound healing and antimicrobial properties. Lupeol, a pentacyclic triterpenoid was extracted for the first time from the latex of C. gigantea and characterized by spectral studies. The presence of lupeol in the latex in appreciable amounts may account for its various biological activities.