Lupeol as Antimicrobial Agent

Abstract

Natural products have a vital role in maintaining human health, and terpenoids, owing to their inimitable carbon skeletons, have different functions. They have diverse properties like anti-inflam-matory, antioxidant, and antiviral (Wang et al., 2024). Rotundic acid, a pentacyclic triterpene has shown anticancer effect (Bhuia et al., 2024), Traditional herbs like Ganoderma lucidum and gin-seng are also rich sources of triterpenoids (Noushahi et al., 2022). Natural triterpenoids, also called phytosterols, have gained popularity because of their diverse hiological effects (Ovesná et al., 2004; Fatma & Siddique, 2023) Triterpenes, a broad class of naturally occurring chemicals with signifi-cant applications, are made by arranging squalene epoxide in a chair-chair-chair-boat configura-tion and then allowing condensation to occur (Liby et al., 2007; Siddique & Fatma, 2024). As with cholesterol in animal cell membranes, free triterpenes stabilize phospholipid bilayers in plant cell membranes, making them significant structural elements of plant membranes. A carbon-carbon double bond, usually in the sterol nucleus and occasionally in the alkyl side chain, is present in most triterpenes, which have 28 or 29 carbons (Moreau et al., 2002). Triterpenes occur naturally in human diets. The pentacyclic triterpene lupeol is unique in its range of pharmacological activities. Among these are hepatitis, gastroprotective, renoprotective, anti-inflammatory, anti-atherosclerotic, antimutagenic, antiproliferative, cardioprotective, anticancer, antimicrobial, antidiabetic, and other properties (Maurya et al. 2020, 2022; Cruz-Salas et al., 2023; Khan et al., 2023) Fruits, vegetables, and cereals are the main sources of triterpenes. Although the typical daily intake of triterpenes in