Lupeol has a complex pharmacology, displaying antiprotozoal, antimicrobial, antiinflammatory, antitumor and chemopreventive properties.
Animal models suggest lupeol may act as an anti-inflammatory agent. A 1998 study found lupeol to decrease paw swelling in rats by 39%, compared to 35% for the standardized control compound indomethacin.
One study has also found some activity as a Dipeptidyl peptidase-4 inhibitor and prolyl oligopeptidase inhibitor at high concentrations (in the millimolar range).
It is an effective inhibitor in laboratory models of prostate and skin cancers.
As an anti-inflammatory agent, lupeol functions primarily on the interleukin system. Lupeol to decreases IL-4 (interleukin 4) production by T-helper type 2 cells.
Lupeol has been found to have a contraceptive effect due to its inhibiting effect on the calcium channel of sperm (CatSper).
Lupeol has also been shown to exert anti-angiogenic and anti-cancer effects via the downregulation of TNF-alpha and VEGFR-2.
Famous anti-inflammatory ethno-medicinal plant Camellia japonica contains anti-inflammatory component lupeol in its leaf.