What is "betulinic acid"

n. (context organic compound English) A naturally-occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid with antiretroviral, antimalarial and antiinflammatory properties.

Betulinic acid is a naturally occurring pentacyclic triterpenoid which has antiretroviral, anti malarial, and anti-inflammatory properties, as well as a more recently discovered potential as an anticancer agent, by inhibition of topoisomerase. It is found in the bark of several species of plants, principally the white birch (Betula pubescens) from which it gets its name, but also the ber tree ( Ziziphus mauritiana), selfheal ( Prunella vulgaris), the tropical carnivorous plants Triphyophyllum peltatum and Ancistrocladus heyneanus, Diospyros leucomelas, a member of the persimmon family, Tetracera boiviniana, the jambul ( Syzygium formosanum), flowering quince ( Pseudocydonia sinensis, former Chaenomeles sinensis KOEHNE), rosemary, and Pulsatilla chinensis.