Natural Products from Burseraceae: Chemical Diversity and Pharmaceutical Potentials

Protium heptaphyllum is a Burseraceae species widely associated with resinous exudates that contain non-volatile secondary metabolites, particularly triterpenoids. This chapter reviews published studies on the isolation, characterisation, and pharmacological evaluation of non-volatile resin compounds from P. heptaphyllum. Literature information was compiled from PubMed, SciFinder, and ScienceDirect for the period 1995–2025. From an initial set of 116 analysed scientific articles, 30 publications were considered relevant to non-volatile resin constituents, including reviews, phytochemical studies, combined phytochemical and pharmacological investigations, and pharmacological studies. The reported phytochemical evidence indicates that the resin is mainly characterised by pentacyclic and tetracyclic triterpenoids, with frequent occurrence of α-amyrin and β-amyrin, either as isolated components or as binary mixtures. Other compounds reported include brein, maniladiol, amyrone derivatives, lupeone, lupeol, oleanolic acid, ursolic acid, and tirucallane-type triterpenes. Characterisation has been performed mainly by chromatographic and spectroscopic methods, including GC-MS, LC-MS, NMR, IR, and UV analyses. Pharmacological studies summarised in the manuscript describe preclinical or cell-based evidence for anti-inflammatory, gastroprotective, analgesic, antipruritic, anxiolytic, antidepressant-like, antihyperglycemic, hypolipidemic, hepatoprotective, antifungal, and anti-obesity-related effects. Overall, the available literature supports the relevance of P. heptaphyllum resin as a source of chemically diverse triterpenoids with biological activity. However, the evidence remains largely preclinical, and further standardised studies are required to clarify composition, mechanisms of action, safety, and translational potential.