Lipase Catalyzed Betulinic Acid Derivatives and its Cytotoxic Activity

Betulinic acid, a triterpenoid found in many plant species, has attracted attention due to its important pharmacological properties, such as anti-cancer and anti-HIV activities. In order to obtain derivatives potentially useful for detailed pharmacological studies, derivatives were synthesized through the reaction of betulinic acid with benzoyl chloride and acetic anhydride using a lipase catalyst. Enzyme-catalyzed reaction of betulinic acid with benzoyl chloride yielded 3β-benzoil-Iup-20(29)-ene-28-oic acid ester (BCL), whereas the acetic anhydride reaction yielded 3β-acetoxy-Iup-20(29)-ene-28-oic acid ester (BAA). The BAA underwentfurther reaction with 1-decanol to produce 3β-acetoxy-Iup-20(29)-ene-28 decanoate (BAAD). The prepared betulinic acid derivatives were testedfor cytotoxic activity on three cancer cell lines in vitro: all tested compounds showed greater activity than betulinic acid.