Planta Med 2002; 68(10): 930-932
DOI: 10.1055/s-2002-34929
Letter
© Georg Thieme Verlag Stuttgart · New York

Triterpenes and Phytosterols as Human Leucocyte Elastase Inhibitors

Anne-Claire Mitaine-Offer1 , William Hornebeck2 , Michel Sauvain3 , Monique Zèches-Hanrot1
  • 1Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Reims Champagne-Ardenne, Reims, France
  • 2Laboratoire de signalisation cellulaire et matrice extracellulaire, IFR 53 Biomolécules, Faculté de Médecine, Reims, France
  • 3Institut de Recherche pour le Développement (IRD), Paris, France
Further Information

Publication History

Received: February 13, 2002

Accepted: April 21, 2002

Publication Date:
21 October 2002 (online)

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Abstract

Ten triterpenes and phytosterols β-amyrin, lupeol, lupeol acetate, ursolic acid, friedelin, canophyllol, 29-hydroxy-friedelan-3-one, β-sitosterol, 3-O-β-D-glucopyranosyl-β-sitosterol, 3-O-(6′-O-palmitoyl)-β-D-glucopyranosyl-β-sitosterol, were evaluated as potential inhibitors of human leucocyte elastase (HLE). In this series, lupeol, ursolic acid and canophyllol showed marked HLE inhibitory activity with IC50 values at 1.9 μM, 4.4 μM, and 2.5 μM, respectively. It appeared that HLE inhibition depended on the presence and the orientation of two reactive groups in the tested molecules, distant from 10 - 12 Å, reacting with Arg-217 in S4-S5 subsites of the extended substrate-binding domain of HLE, and S3, respectively.

References

Dr. A.-C. Mitaine-Offer

New address: Laboratoire de Pharmacognosie, Unité MIB, J E 2244

Faculté de Pharmacie, Université de Bourgogne

7, Bd. Jeanne D’Arc, BP 87900

21079 Dijon Cedex

France

Email: acoffer@u-bourgogne.fr

Fax: +33-3-80 39 33 00