ABSTRACT
The characterization of natural extracts rich in bioactive compounds with a beneficial effect on human health has taken great importance in the last decades. One of the most promising natural compounds is diterpenoid kaurenes, responsible for beneficial effects on the human organism, highlighting their antitumor, anticancer, and antibacterial properties, among others. In 1999, kaurenes were classified by the IUPAC as the main fundamental structure of this diterpenoid class, where to date they incorporate a fragment of perhydrophenanthrene conjugated with a cyclopentane ring to build the structure of the tetracyclic nucleus. Particularly, tetracyclic diterpenoid belonging to the ent-kaurenes class is found in various natural resources mainly in higher plants, where they can be found in significant concentrations. Diterpenoids studies have focused on their isolation and identification from a plant, on their biosynthetic pathway, as well as on their 318biological activities to generate pharmaceutical and biomaterial products. To cherimoya (Annona cherimola L.), the diterpenoids are in greater proportion (42%-60%), representing between 554 and 1350 mg/kg of dry material; in this way, it constitutes an excellent source of these bioactive compounds. Thus, the production and application of these diterpenes in numerous productive sectors are viable and attractive.
