Immunodulatory activity of betulinic acid from Lycopus lucidus in murine macrophage RAW 264.7 cells

Betulinic acid (BA), a pentacyclic triterpene isolated from Lycopus lucidus, has been reported to be a selective inducer of apoptosis in various human tumor cells. It also exhibits anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory properties. Due to its high level of these activities and lack of toxicity, BA is an attractive and promising compound as a new drug and recently undergoing preclinical development as an immunomodulators. How BA mediates these matters is not known yet. (omitted)