Affiliations 

  • 1 Institute for Tropical Biology & Conservation, University Malaysia Sabah, Kota Kinabalu 88400, Malaysia
  • 2 Department of Medical Microbiology, Faculty of Medicine, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
  • 3 Research Excellence Centre for Innovation and Health Products (RECIHP), Walailak University, Nakhon Si Thammarat 80160, Thailand
  • 4 Department of Biotechnology & Genetic Engineering, University of Development Alternative, Dhaka 1207, Bangladesh
  • 5 School of Pharmacy and Pharmacology, University of Tasmania, Hobart, TAS 7001, Australia
  • 6 Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences, UCSI University, Kuala Lumpur 56000, Malaysia
  • 7 Department of Chemistry, Faculty of Science, University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur 50603, Malaysia
Molecules, 2023 May 04;28(9).
PMID: 37175283 DOI: 10.3390/molecules28093873

Abstract

This review identifies terpenes isolated from the medicinal Angiosperms of Asia and the Pacific with antibacterial and/or antifungal activities and analyses their distribution, molecular mass, solubility, and modes of action. All data in this review were compiled from Google Scholar, PubMed, Science Direct, Web of Science, ChemSpider, PubChem, and library searches from 1968 to 2022. About 300 antibacterial and/or antifungal terpenes were identified during this period. Terpenes with a MIC ≤ 2 µg/mL are mostly amphiphilic and active against Gram-positive bacteria, with a molecular mass ranging from about 150 to 550 g/mol, and a polar surface area around 20 Ų. Carvacrol, celastrol, cuminol, dysoxyhainic acid I, ent-1β,14β-diacetoxy-7α-hydroxykaur-16-en-15-one, ergosterol-5,8-endoperoxide, geranylgeraniol, gossypol, 16α-hydroxy-cleroda-3,13 (14)Z-diene-15,16-olide, 7-hydroxycadalene, 17-hydroxyjolkinolide B, (20R)-3β-hydroxy-24,25,26,27-tetranor-5α cycloartan-23,21-olide, mansonone F, (+)-6,6'-methoxygossypol, polygodial, pristimerin, terpinen-4-ol, and α-terpineol are chemical frameworks that could be candidates for the further development of lead antibacterial or antifungal drugs.

* Title and MeSH Headings from MEDLINE®/PubMed®, a database of the U.S. National Library of Medicine.