ROLE OF TERPENIODS:

Terpenes, also known as terpenoids are the largest and most diverse group of naturally

occurring compounds. Based on the number of isoprene units they have, they are classified as

mono, di, tri, tetra, and sesquiterpenes. They are mostly found in plants and form the major

constituent of essential oils from plants. Among the natural products that provide medical

benefits for an organism, terpenes play a major and variety of roles. The common plant

sources of terpenes are tea, thyme, cannabis, Spanish sage, and citrus fruits (e.g., lemon,

orange, mandarin). Terpenes have a wide range of medicinal uses among which

antiplasmodial activity is notable as its mechanism of action is similar to the popular

antimalarial drug in use—chloroquine. Monoterpenes specifically are widely studied for their

antiviral property. With growing incidents of cancer and diabetes in modern world, terpenes

also have the potential to serve as anticancer and antidiabetic reagents. Along with these

properties, terpenes also allow for flexibility in route of administration and suppression of

side effects. Certain terpenes were widely used in natural folk medicine. One such terpene is

curcumin which holds anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antiseptic, antiplasmodial,

astringent, digestive, diuretic, and many other properties. Curcumin has also become a recent

trend in healthy foods and open doors for several medical researches. This chapter

summarizes the various terpenes, their sources, medicinal properties, mechanism of action,

and the recent studies that are underway for designing terpenes as a lead molecule in the

modern medicine.

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CHEMISTRY OF TERPENOIDS:

Terpenoids are naturally occurring hydrocarbons produced by a wide variety of plants and

animals. They are classified based on five-carbon (isoprene) units as their building blocks,

numbering more than 55,000 molecules having been discovered till date. Different terpenes

include hemiterpenes (C5), monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (C15), diterpenes (C20),

sesterterpenes (C25), triterpenes (C30), and polyterpenes (>C30). Diverse functional roles of

terpenoids have been critically studied and well-accepted now. Some of them include natural

flavor additives for food or fragrances in perfumery and in traditional and alternate medicines

as aromatherapy. Biosynthetically, terpenoids are formed via two major synthetic pathways:

mevalonic acid (MVA) pathway and 2C-methyl-D-erythritol-4-phosphate (MEP) pathway.

Biologically active terpenoids span various orders of magnitude. Most comprehensively

studied of which is the effect of terpenes in prevention and treatment of cancer. Illustratively,

Taxol derivative (paclitaxel and docetaxel) are among the widely used drugs in cancer

chemotherapy. Other important therapeutic uses of terpenoids include antimicrobial,

antifungal, antiviral, antihyperglycemic, anti-inflammatory, antioxidants, antiparasitic,

immunomodulatory, and as skin permeation enhancer. Since many of these molecules are

only found in very low levels in nature, their massive harvesting to obtain sufficient amounts

of the drug including synthetic biology and metabolic engineering provides innovative

approaches to increase the production of terpenoids.

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VARIANTS OF CUCURBITACIN

The Cucurbitacin includes the following variants:

 Cucurbitacin A
 Cucurbitacin B
 Cucurbitacin C
 Cucurbitacin D
 Cucurbitacin E
 Cucurbitacin F
 Cucurbitacin G
 Cucurbitacin H
 Cucurbitacin I
 Cucurbitacin J
 Cucurbitacin K
 Cucurbitacin L
 Cucurbitacin O
 Cucurbitacin P
 Cucurbitacin Q
 Cucurbitacin R
 Cucurbitacin S
 Cucurbitacin T

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