## 1 Introduction
Because a large portion of these nutraceuticalals show great potential for targeting cancer through various mechanisms--such as the downregulation of transcription factors (e.g., nuclear factor-kappaB [NF-kB]), anti-apoptotic proteins (e.g., bcl-2, bcl-xL), promoters of cell proliferation (e.g., cyclooxygenase-2 [COX-2], cyclin D1, c-myc), invasive and metastatic genes (e.g., matrix metalloproteinase [MMPs], intracellular adhesion molecule-1 (ICAM-1), and angiogenic protein (vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF)) (Table 2); and other uses of these triterpenoids are shown in Table 3. This review summarizes the sources and structures of triterpenoids and provides insight into the underlying molecular targets for cancer prevention and therapy. \begin{table}
\begin{tabular}{l l l} \hline
**Triterpenoid** & **Targets** & **References** \\ \hline Amyrin & NF-kB, IL-1\(\beta\), COX-2, CREB, ERK, PKC, P38 MAPK & [9, 10] \\ Avicin & NF-kB, Fas, STAT3, caspase-8, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL & [11, 12, 13, 14, 15, 16] \\ Asiatic acid & NF-kB, caspases-2, -3, -8 and -9, PARP, Bcl-2 & [17, 18, 19, 20, 21, 22, 23, 24] \\ Astragaloside & NF-kB, VCAM-1 & [25] \\ Betulinic acid & NF-kB, STAT3, Bax, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, FAK & [26, 27, 28, 29, 30, 31, 32, 33, 34, 35, 36, 37, 38] \\ Boswellic acid & NF-kB, STAT3, AR, p21, DR5, caspase-3 and -8 & [39, 40, 41, 42, 43, 44, 45, 46, 47, 48] \\ Celastrol & NF-kB, IAP1, IAP2, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, c-FLIP, COX-2, survivin, cyclin & [49, 50, 51, 52, 53] \\  & D1, MMP9, VEGF, iNOS, Hsp90, cdc37, VEGFR & \\ Cucurbitacin & Cyclin B1, cyclin D1, Mcl-1, cdc25C, STAT3, p53 & [54, 55, 56, 57, 58, 59] \\ Diosgenin & NF-kB, survivin, XIAP, cyclin D1, cdk-2, cdk-4, mTOR, JNK, HMG- & [60, 61, 62, 63, 64, 65] \\  & CoA reductase, p53, AIF, p21 rss, \(\beta\)-catenin & \\ Escin & NF-kB, STAT3, JAK2, cyclin D1, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, survivin, Mcl-1, & [66, 67] \\  & VEGF, COX-2, MMP9 & \\ Ganoderic acid & NF-kB, AP-1, NFATc1, cdk4, uPA, MMP2, MMP9, & [68, 69, 70, 71, 72] \\ Ginsenosides & NF-kB, Bax, caspase-3, caspase-8, Bcl-2, IAP, XIAP, cyclin B1, & [73, 74, 75, 76] \\  & cyclin D, cdk2, cdk4, VEGF, MAPK, IL-1\(\beta\), TNF-\(\alpha\), ICAM-1, JNK \\ Glycyrrhizin & NF-kB, AP-1, TLR2, COX-2, IL-1\(\alpha\), TNF-\(\alpha\) & [77, 78, 79, 80, 81, 82, 83] \\ Glycyrrhetinic & NF-kB, H-ras, Bax, cytochrome C, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL, Bak, caspase-3, & [84, 85, 86] \\ acid & PPAR\(\gamma\) \\ Gypenoside & NF-kB, PPAR, VCAM-1, TF, iNOS, Ras & [87, 88, 89, 90, 91, 92] \\ Lupeol & NF-kB, cFLIP, survivin, Bax, caspase-3, caspase-9 & [93, 94, 95, 96, 97, 98, 99, 100, 101, 102] \\ Madecassic & iNOS, COX-2, TNF-\(\alpha\), IL-1, IL-6 & [103] \\ acid & \\ Momordin & NF-kB, AP-1, Bcl-2, Bax, caspase-3, PARP & [104, 105] \\ Oleandrin & NF-kB, AP-1, Fas, ERK, Akt, FGF-1 & [106, 107, 108, 109, 110, 111, 112, 113, 114] \\ Oleandnic acid & NF-kB, mTOR, caspases-3, -8, and -9, ICAM-1, VEGF, PARP, Akt & [115, 116] \\ Platycodon D & NF-kB, Egr-1, caspase-3 & \\ Pristimerin & NF-kB, PARP-1, JNK, Bax, p27, Bcl-2, Bcl-xL & [117, 118, 119, 120] \\ Saikosaponins & NF-kB, NF-AT, AP-1, IL-6, TNF-, IFN-, PKC, JNK, p53, Fas/FasL & [121, 122, 123] \\ Ursolic acid & NF-kB, STAT3, Bcl-2, Bax, ICAM-1, p53, PKC & [114, 124, 125, 126, 127, 128, 129, 130, 131, 132, 133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138] \\ Withanolide & NF-kB, AP-1, IL-6, COX-2, Hsp70, Hsp90, Bax & [133, 134, 135, 136, 137, 138] \\ \hline \end{tabular}
\end{table} 
Table 2: Molecular targets of triterpenenoid for anticancer and anti-inflammatory activities.