Pachymic acid explained

Pachymic acid is a naturally occurring steroid that can be extracted from the parasitic fungus Wolfiporia extensa (synonym Wolfiporia cocos). The dried sclerotia of the fungus is used as a traditional Chinese medicine, and pachymic acid is thought to be the principal bioactive component of it.^[1] Pachymic acid is a white powder that is not absorbed well by the body due the poor solubilty it has in water.^[2]

Effects

Pachymic acid is known to inhibit the Epstein–Barr virus and to inhibit the snake venom phospholipase A2.^[3] It also has antitumor and anti-inflammatory properties.^[1] Pachymic acid anti-tumor properties are due to the cytotoxic effects it has on the tumors making them less viable and proliferate less. Various cancer cells can have their cell growth stopped and undergo apotosis, however the exact mechanism is not known.^[4]

Notes and References

1. PLOS ONE . 2013 . 8 . 8 . De Novo Sequencing and Transcriptome Analysis of Wolfiporia cocos to Reveal Genes Related to Biosynthesis of Triterpenoids . Shaohua . Shu . Bei . Chen . Mengchun . Zhou . Xinmei . Zhao . Haiyang . Xia . Mo . Wang . 10.1371/journal.pone.0071350 . 3743799 . 23967197 . e71350. 2013PLoSO...871350S . free .
2. Wei . Chunyong . Wang . Hezhen . Sun . Xun . Bai . Zhixun . Wang . Jing . Bai . Guohui . Yao . Qizheng . Xu . Yingshu . Zhang . Lei . 2022-07-01 . Pharmacological profiles and therapeutic applications of pachymic acid (Review) . Experimental and Therapeutic Medicine . 24 . 3 . 10.3892/etm.2022.11484 . 1792-0981. 9366251 .
3. Web site: Pachymic acid Biological Test Results. PubChem compound database. 3 March 2016.
4. Jiang . Feng . Zhu . Tieming . Yang . Chunfeng . Chen . Yang . Fu . Zhidong . Jiang . Lihui . Liu . Yongzhi . 2023 . Pachymic Acid Inhibits Growth and Metastatic Potential in Liver Cancer HepG2 and Huh7 Cells . Biological and Pharmaceutical Bulletin . 46 . 1 . 35–41 . 10.1248/bpb.b22-00440. free .