Αlpha-pinene is colorless liquid at room temperature, volatile, and insoluble in water. It contains a special bicyclic double bond structure, and is characterized with good biological activity and unique reaction diversity. It is used as one of the important raw materials in the synthesisof chemical products such as camphor, borneol, terpineol, perfume and resin in chemical industry and atmospheric chemistry.  

Anti-tumor effect

In the study of the effect of α-pinene on non-small cell lung cancer,  α-pinene and paclitaxel were used by Zhang Z to treat A549 cells, and it was found that the combination of drugs could increase the efficacy of paclitaxel in inhibiting tumors. The results have shown that α-pinene can significantly promote the apoptosis of tumor cell. This is mainly due to the produced synergistic effect when used in combination with paclitaxel. Further research has suggested that when α-pinene is used in combination with paclitaxel, the proportion of cells in phase G0/G1 can be significantly increased, and changes is found in cell morphology, such as chromatin condensation and nuclear fragmentation, whitch will lead to the apoptosis of tumor cells.

Antifungal activities

The main components in the cell wall of Candida albicans are chitin, glucose and mannan. The chemical composition in the cell membrane is mainly ergosterol, and the nucleic acid is mainly DNA and a small amount of RNA. The synthesis of the above mentioned components can lead to the death of bacterial cells. It has been found by Xia Zhongdi and other people thatα-pinene has obvious inhibitory activities on the synthesis of chitin and polysaccharides in the cell wall of Candida albicans, the synthesis of ergosterol in the cell membrane and the synthesis of nucleic acid DNA and RNA. Among them, the inhibition of the synthesis of ergosterol is more significant. The research done by Pichette A and other people have also shown that α-pinene has anti-inflammatory, antibacterial and anti-oxidant effects.

Anti-allergy and ulceration improvement

A research has been done by Nam SY and other people to study the inhibition effect of α-pinene on allergic rhinitis in mice, and it was observed that the expression of IL-4 in spleen lymphocytes was decreased, and IgE, α-TNF, ICAM-1 and macrophage inflammation Protein-2 in nasal mucosa was reduced. The increased eosinophils and mast cells in mice were also significantly reduced after treatment with alpha-pinene. In addition, the study of human mast cell line HMC-1 after treated with α-pinene-treated has shown that α-pinene had inhibition effects on the activities of phosphorylated RIP2, IKK-β, NF-κB and caspase-1. Therefore, α-pinene is considered as an antiallergic agent.

In the study of improving ulcers, α-pinene extracted from Pinheiro Mde A and other oils was used in the treatment of gastric ulcer in mice and it has been found that α-pinene has significant anti-ulcer activity.

References

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