Hemslecin is any of several compounds obtained from plants of the Helmseya genus, which are used in Asia

Asia

Asia is the world's largest and most populous continent, located primarily in the eastern and northern hemispheres. It covers 8.7% of the Earth's total surface area and with approximately 3.879 billion people, it hosts 60% of the world's current human population...

n folk medicine

Folk medicine

-Description:Refers to healing practices and ideas of body physiology and health preservation known to a limited segment of the population in a culture, transmitted informally as general knowledge, and practiced or applied by anyone in the culture having prior experience.All cultures and societies...

. They are triterpene

Triterpene

Triterpenes are terpenes consisting of six isoprene units and have the molecular formula C30H48.The pentacyclic triterpenes can be classified into lupane, oleanane or ursane groups.Animal- and plant-derived triterpenes exist, such as:*squalene...

 derivatives, specifically with the cucurbitane

Cucurbitane

Cucurbitane is a chemical compound with formula . It is a polycyclic hydrocarbon, specifically a triterpene. It is an isomer of lanostane , from which it differs by the formal shift of a methyl group from the 10 to the 9β position in the standard steroid numbering scheme.The name is applied to...

 skeleton, related to cucurbitacin F

Cucurbitacin

Cucurbitacin is any of a class of biochemical compounds that some plants — notably members of the family Cucurbitaceae, that includes the common pumpkins and gourds — developed in order to defend themselves from herbivores...

.

The hemslecins include:

• Hemslecin A, 25-acetoxy-23,24-dihydrocucurbitacin F, from Hemsleya endecaphylla and from Helmseya amabilis
• Hemslecin B, 23,24-dihydrocucurbitacin F, from Hemsleya endecaphylla
• Hemslecin C, synthesized from hemslecin A
• Hemslecin D from Helmseya lijiangensis
• Hemslecin E from Helmseya lijiangensis
• Hemslecin F from Helmseya lijiangensis
• Hemslecin G from Helmseya gigantha

Hemslecins A and B have antibacterial properties, and have been proven to be effective against infectious diseases such as enteritis

Enteritis

In medicine, enteritis, from Greek words enteron and suffix -itis , refers to inflammation of the small intestine. It is most commonly caused by the ingestion of substances contaminated with pathogenic microorganisms. Symptoms include abdominal pain, cramping, diarrhea, dehydration and fever...

, bronchitis

Bronchitis

Acute bronchitis is an inflammation of the large bronchi in the lungs that is usually caused by viruses or bacteria and may last several days or weeks. Characteristic symptoms include cough, sputum production, and shortness of breath and wheezing related to the obstruction of the inflamed airways...

, acute tonsillitis

Tonsillitis

Tonsillitis is an inflammation of the tonsils most commonly caused by viral or bacterial infection. Symptoms of tonsillitis include sore throat and fever. While no treatment has been found to shorten the duration of viral tonsillitis, bacterial causes are treatable with antibiotics...

, and bacillary dysentery

Dysentery

Dysentery is an inflammatory disorder of the intestine, especially of the colon, that results in severe diarrhea containing mucus and/or blood in the faeces with fever and abdominal pain. If left untreated, dysentery can be fatal.There are differences between dysentery and normal bloody diarrhoea...

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