phorbol esters
{{Short description|Group of chemical compounds}}
File:12-O-Tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate.svg, a phorbol ester]]
Phorbol esters are a class of chemical compounds found in a variety of plants, particularly in the families Euphorbiaceae and Thymelaeaceae.{{cite journal | pmid = 17661218| year = 2007| last1 = Goel| first1 = G| title = Phorbol esters: Structure, biological activity, and toxicity in animals| journal = International Journal of Toxicology| volume = 26| issue = 4| pages = 279–88| last2 = Makkar| first2 = H. P.| last3 = Francis| first3 = G| last4 = Becker| first4 = K| doi = 10.1080/10915810701464641| citeseerx = 10.1.1.320.6537| s2cid = 11550625}}{{Citation|last1=Evans|first1=Gerald A.|title=Phorbol Esters|date=1998-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B012226765600503X|encyclopedia=Encyclopedia of Immunology (Second Edition)|pages=1940–1942|editor-last=Delves|editor-first=Peter J.|place=Oxford|publisher=Elsevier|language=en|doi=10.1006/rwei.1999.0488|isbn=978-0-12-226765-9|access-date=2020-11-26|last2=Farrar|first2=William L.|url-access=subscription}} Chemically, they are ester derivatives of the tetracyclic diterpenoid phorbol.
Biological activity
Protein kinase C (PKC) is a phorbol ester receptor.{{Citation|last1=Weimer|first1=R.|title=Munc13 and Associated Molecules☆|date=2015-01-01|url=http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/B9780128012383046742|work=Reference Module in Biomedical Sciences|publisher=Elsevier|language=en|doi=10.1016/b978-0-12-801238-3.04674-2|isbn=978-0-12-801238-3|access-date=2020-11-26|last2=Richmond|first2=J.|url-access=subscription}} Phorbol esters can stimulate PKC in a similar way to diglycerides.
Phorbol esters are known for their ability to promote tumors. In particular, 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA) is used as a biomedical research tool in models of carcinogenesis.{{Cite journal | doi = 10.1038/293144a0| pmid = 7266668| title = Tumour promoter phorbol-12-myristate-13-acetate induces chromosomal damage via indirect action| journal = Nature| volume = 293| issue = 5828| pages = 144–6| year = 1981| last1 = Emerit| first1 = Ingrid| last2 = Cerutti| first2 = Peter A.| bibcode = 1981Natur.293..144E| s2cid = 45253610}}{{cite book | title = Poisonous Plant Contamination of Edible Plants | author = Abdel-Fatta Rizk | publisher = CRC Press | date = 1990 | isbn = 9780849363696 | pages = 43–44}}
Plants that contain phorbol esters are often poisonous.
References
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{{Transient receptor potential channel modulators}}
{{ester-stub}}