Triterpenoids in Jujube: A Review of Composition, Content Diversity, Pharmacological Effects, Synthetic Pathway, and Variation during Domestication

Chinese jujube (Ziziphus jujuba Mill.) and its wild ancestor, sour jujube (Z. acidojujuba C.Y. Cheng & M.J. Liu), is a Ziziphus genus in the Rhamnaceae family. ZJ and ZA are rich in a variety of active ingredients, with triterpenoids being a unique active ingredient, which are present in the fruit, leaves, branches, and roots. More than 120 triterpenoids have been identified in ZJ and ZA, and have various biological activities. For example, betulinic and ursolic acids have anticancer, antioxidant, antibacterial and antiviral activities. ceanothic, alphitolic, and zizyberanalic acids possess anti-inflammatory activities. The MVA pathway is a synthetic pathway for triterpenoids in ZJ and ZA, and 23 genes of the MVA pathway are known to regulate triterpene synthesis in ZJ and ZA. In order to better understand the basic situation of triterpenoids in ZJ and ZA, this paper reviews the types, content dynamic changes, activities, pharmacokinetics, triterpenoid synthesis pathways, and the effects of domestication on triterpenoids in ZJ and ZA, and provides some ideas for the future research of triterpenoids in ZJ and ZA. In addition, there are many types of ZJ and ZA triterpenoids, and most of the studies on their activities are on lupane- and ursane-type triterpenes, while the activities of the ceanothane-type and saponin are less studied and need additional research.