Copalic Acid: Occurrence, Chemistry, and Biological Activities

Abstract

(–)-Copalic acid is a naturally occurring labdane‐type diterpene acid usually isolated from oleoresins of Copaifera trees, being considered the biomarker for the genus. This compound has shown many remarkable biological and pharmacological activities, including anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antiparasitic, cytotoxic, chemopreventive, antimutagenic, and antigenotoxic activities, which have attracted interest in its use as a prototype for the development of new drugs. This review was organized to describe the extraction, isolation, and analytical methods for quantification and structural elucidation, biological and pharmacological activities, pharmacokinetic and toxicological studies, and several semisynthetic derivatives of copalic acid. Some remaining gaps related to the reviewed activities are also mentioned, while the perspectives for future research with copalic acid are proposed.