Abietic acid (AA), a diterpene produced by conifer species, such as grand fir and lodgepole pine, has been reported to have anti-inflammatory and immunomodulatory effects and can be used as a wound-healing agent. Its treatment elevates cell migration and tube formation in human umbilical vein vascular endothelial cells by the activation of ERK and p38 MAPKs. In addition was shown, that abietic acid could be used as an antimetastatic agent or as an adjuvant for anticancer therapy. AA acts as a PPARα/γ dual activator to inhibit age-related inflammation by suppressing NF-κB and the MAPK/AP-1 pathway and can be a useful agent for improving skin photoaging.

Ursocholic acid (UCA) is the 7 beta epimer of the naturally occurring primary bile acid, cholic acid. Cholic acid (CA) administration does not reduce biliary cholesterol saturation unless its 7 alpha dehydroxylation to deoxycholic acid (DCA) is prevented by concomitant antibiotic treatment. It was shown, that UCA caused diarrhoea and hypercholesterolemia, had only a modest effect on biliary cholesterol saturation and thus UCA was not able to replace ursodeoxycholic and chenodeoxycholic acid for medical treatment of gallstones. In addition, as discovered, during ursocholic acid therapy the synthesis of primary bile acids continued whereas the formation of secondary bile acids was greatly increase.