The molecule malabaricane and its derivatives, the malabaricanes, are triterpene and

triterpenoid Triterpenes are a class of chemical compounds composed of three terpene units with the molecular formula C30H48; they may also be thought of as consisting of six isoprene units. Animals, plants and fungi all produce triterpenes, including squale ...

compounds found in various organisms. They are named after the rain forest tree ''

Ailanthus malabarica ''Ailanthus triphysa'' (also ''Ailanthus malabarica'') is a medium to tall evergreen rainforest tree in Asia and Australia. The wood may be used for matchwood and plywood. The tree is known as ''halmaddi'' in India, where its resin, also called ' ...

'' (''Ailanthus triphysa''), from which they were first isolated in 1967 by scientists at the National Chemical Laboratory in Pune, India. Later, great varieties of malabaricanes were discovered in other organisms, mostly in marine sponges such as ''

Rhabdastrella globostellata ''Rhabdastrella globostellata'', also known as the yellow pot sponge, is a marine sponge of the order Astrophorida. It is native to many regions of the Indian Ocean including the shores of Madagascar, the Seychelles, and Australia as well as the ...

''. Isomalabaricanes are malabaricanes in which the three carbon rings of the molecule are connected in '' trans−syn−trans'' conformation, as opposed to other malabaricanes, where the rings are connected in ''trans−anti−trans'' conformation. They are of particular research interest because many of them have been reported to show anti-tumour activity in

cell culture Cell culture or tissue culture is the process by which cells are grown under controlled conditions, generally outside of their natural environment. The term "tissue culture" was coined by American pathologist Montrose Thomas Burrows. This te ...

References

Triterpenes {{Organic-compound-stub