The Pharmacological Properties Of Terpenoids From Sandoricum Koetjape

Abstract Sandoricum koetjape is a traditional plant belonging tothe family of Meliaceae. It is native to Southeast Asiancountries, including Malaysia and Philippines. InMalaysia, it is locally known as Santol. The tree is amedium-sized with edible fruit. In Malaysia, theaqueous extract of the bark is traditionally consumedas a tonic after giving birth. Number of comprehensivestudies on its phytochemical and pharmacologicalproperties has been reported. Various bioactivecompounds have been isolated from fruits, seeds,leaves and bark. More than 10 terpenoids have beenisolated and studied for their potential medicinalproperties. Terpenoids represent the largest class ofsecondary metabolites from the natural source. Thisarticle aims to review the pharmacological propertiesof the isolated terpenoids from Sandoricum koetjape. Review Influence of medicinal plants on diseasestreatment: Plants have formed the basis of sophisticatedtraditional medicine systems that have been inexistence for thousands of years [1]. Plants have beenutilized to heal ailments from alleviating headache totreating heart diseases [2]. The first illustrated book about gathering, preparationand use of medicinal plants was written by ChineseEmperor Shen Nung before 3000 thousand years [1]. The Greeks also contributed in the development of theherbal drugs. “De Materia Medica” written byDioscorides, the Greek physician (100 A.D.),described more than 600 medicinal plants [2]. Theexpertises of Greeks in herbal medicine werepreserved only by Arabs, during the dark and middleAges. Arabs developed this science using their ownresources and together with Greco-Roman, Chineseand Indian herbs [1]. The shift from using ordinary herbal medicines tomodern pharmaceuticals was just started in 1800s.This transfer was due starting isolation of purecompounds from plants. In 1805, morphine waspurified from the opium . Following the isolation ofsalicylic acid from the bark of the willow tree,Hoffmann synthesized aspirin in 1897. Ephedrine wasisolated from the Chinese herb mahuang (Ephedra) in1887. The antimalarial drug artemisinin was developedin 1972 from the Chinese herb qinghao (sweetwormwood, Artemisia annua L.) [3]. Although, humans depend on plants from thousandsyears, the science of medicinal plants is still a vastlyunknown. Scholars estimate that 5 % of 250000species of plants have been investigated [2]. This factpoints in the importance of screen new plants for theirpharmacological properties.Natural products and cancer treatment:Some secondary metabolites of the plants such asalkaloids, terpenoids and glycosides serve either asprotective agents against various pathogens (e.g.insects, fungi or bacteria) or growth regulatorymolecules (e.g. hormone-like substances), as a result,secondary metabolites can serve as potentialanticancer drugs, either by direct cytotoxic activityagainst cancer cells or by modulating the tumordevelopment process [4]. In fact, natural products areconsidered as a mainstay in cancer treatment, as 60%of worldwide anticancer drugs between 1983 and 1994were from natural origin [5]. The most famous examples are vinblastine andvincristine from Catharanthus roseus, paclitaxel fromTaxus brevifolia Nutt, etoposide and teniposide whichare epimers of podophyllotoxin which isolated fromroots of various species of the genus podophyllum,and camptothecin which isolated from the Chinesetree Camptotheca acuminata [6]. The impact of theseproducts in cancer treatment is very obvious, paclitaxel and camptothecin were estimated toaccount for nearly one-third of the global anticancermarket or about $3 billion of $9 billion in total annuallyin 2002 [7]. Terpenoids:Terpenoids are defined as secondary metabolites withmolecular structures containing carbon backbonesmade up of isoprene (2-methylbuta- 1, 3-diene) units.