Chemistry and Biology of the Triterpenes and Saponins from Seeds of Mimusops elengi

ABSTRACT

Mimusops elengi Linn. (N.O. Sapotaceae), a tree indigenous to India, has a long history of being used in traditional medicine. The primary compounds of interest in this plant are the triterpenes and triterpene glycosides. The triterpene, mimusopic acid, possessing the novel migrated oleanane skeleton, mimusopane, exhibits anti-HIV reverse transcriptase activity and modification of this novel compound may lead to more potent bioactive substances. Moreover, the saponins present also demonstrated to be antifungal against some human pathogens. The compounds isolated, characterized and bioactivity evaluated are presented in the form of a review.

KEYWORDS:

• Anti-HIV activity
• antifungal activity
• mimusopane
• Sapotaceae