There are numerous plant-derived triterpenoid compounds and derivatives of them, with a few receiving attention in the cosmetic area, e. g., asiatic acid, ursolic acid, medacassic acid, oleanolic acid, betulinic acid, and boswellic acid. There are also naturally occurring saccharide esters of these, such as asiaticoside, which is the ester of asiatic acid.
There are many reported mechanisms for triterpenoids, for example, antioxidant, antiinflammatory, elastase inhibition, wound healing, and promotion of collagen and ceramide production (65,66). Since triterpenoids share some structural similarity to steroidal compounds such as hydrocortisone, they may also share some of the mechanistic properties and potency of such compounds (e. g., anti-inflammatory effects).