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Review
. 2025 Jan 10:14:101900.
doi: 10.1016/j.toxrep.2025.101900. eCollection 2025 Jun.

Recent developments on ursolic acid and its potential biological applications

Affiliations
Review

Recent developments on ursolic acid and its potential biological applications

R Arulnangai et al. Toxicol Rep. .

Abstract

A naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid, ursolic acid (UA) has attracted a lot of interest due to its various pharmacological characteristics and its medical uses. The goal of this thorough review is to present a thorough examination of the therapeutic benefits of UA, including its anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer, antibacterial, and metabolic-regulating properties. We go over its origins, pharmacological characteristics, and advantages in the treatment of several illnesses, including cancer, neurological disorders, metabolic disorders, and cardiovascular diseases. We further emphasize its potential to improve exercise capacity and its growing function as an exercise mimic. UA's therapeutic potential is thoroughly explained in this review, which highlights the compound's potential as a natural remedy for several illnesses.

Keywords: Antimicrobial; Hyperlipidaemia; Metabolic Health; Neuroprotective; Ursolic acid.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare the following financial interests/personal relationships which may be considered as potential competing interests: Thirugnanasambandham reports was provided by TNAU. Thirugnanasambandham reports a relationship with Tamil Nadu Agricultural University that includes:. If there are other authors, they declare that they have no known competing financial interests or personal relationships that could have appeared to influence the work reported in this paper.

Figures

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Graphical abstract
Fig. 1
Fig. 1
Structure of UA (C30H48O3).
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Fig. 2
Melissa officinalis leaves .
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Fig. 3
Piper betle .
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Fig. 4
Rosemary .

References

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    1. Lee Y.J., et al. Ursolic acid attenuates neuroinflammation and oxidative stress in Alzheimer’s disease models. Front. Neurosci. 2019;13:690.
    1. Wang X., et al. Ursolic acid induces apoptosis and inhibits proliferation in various cancer cell lines. Cancer Lett. 2018;426:120–130.
    1. Zafar S., et al. Ursolic acid: a natural modulator of signaling networks in different cancers. Cancer Cell Int. 2022;22(1):399. - PMC - PubMed

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