Methyl betulinate is the methyl ester of betulinic acid, a pentacyclic lupane terpene isolated as a constituent of various tree species, including birch. In Australia, methyl betulinate was isolated from Akania bidwillii (syn. Akania lucens) by Ritchie and Taylor, University of Sydney in the late 1960s. More recently, methyl betulinate has been reported to be active in a number of bioassays, in particular against the malaria parasite, Plasmodium falciparum, and against human melanoma cell lines.