Medizinische Chemie

Natural Bioactive Sterol 5α,8α-endoperoxides as Drug Lead Compounds

Abstract

Ming Bu, Burton B Yang and Liming Hu

The natural product sterol 5α,8α-endoperoxides are structural different from general sterols. These compounds belong to the group of oxidized sterol derivatives and contain a 5α,8α-endoperoxide bond in addition to the fragments characteristic of original sterols. Many researches have reported that sterol 5α,8α-endoperoxides have potential bioactivities, including antioxidant, antimicrobial, anti-tumor activity, immunomodulatory activity, inhibitory hemolytic activity and anti-inflammatory activity etc. The review discussed the structures, properties, bioactivity and synthetic methods of sterol 5α,8α-endoperoxides. The natural peroxides are valuable sources in the development of novel bioactive agents.