Total synthesis of indole and dihydroindole alkaloids. VI. The total synthesis of some monomeric vinca alkaloids: dl-vincadine, dl-vincaminoreine, dl-vincaminorine, dl-vincadifformine, dl-minovine and dl-vincaminoridine

Monoterpene indole alkaloids from Vinca minor L. (Apocynaceae): Identification of new structural scaffold for treatment of Alzheimer's disease

One undescribed indole alkaloid together with twenty-two known compounds have been isolated from aerial parts of Vinca minor L. (Apocynaceae). The chemical structures of the isolated alkaloids were determined by a combination of MS, HRMS, 1D, and 2D NMR techniques, and by comparison with literature data. The NMR data of several alkaloids have been revised, corrected, and missing data have been supplemented. Alkaloids isolated in sufficient quantity were screened for their in vitro acetylcholinesterase (AChE; E.C. 3.1.1.7) and butyrylcholinesterase (BuChE; E.C. 3.1.1.8) inhibitory activity. Selected compounds were also evaluated for prolyl oligopeptidase (POP; E.C. 3.4.21.26), and glycogen synthase 3β-kinase (GSK-3β; E.C. 2.7.11.26) inhibition potential. Significant hBuChE inhibition activity has been shown by (-)-2-ethyl-3[2-(3-ethylpiperidinyl)-ethyl]-1H-indole with an IC₅₀ value of 0.65 ± 0.16 μM. This compound was further studied by enzyme kinetics, along with in silico techniques, to reveal the mode of inhibition. This compound is also predicted to cross the blood-brain barrier (BBB) through passive diffusion.

Enantioselective synthesis of 3,3-disubstituted piperidine derivatives by enolate dialkylation of phenylglycinol-derived oxazolopiperidone lactams

The stereochemical outcome of the enolate dialkylation of simple phenylglycinol-derived oxazolopiperidone lactams is studied. High stereoselectivities in the generation of the quaternary stereocenter are obtained by the appropriate choice of both the configuration of the starting lactam and the order of introduction of the substituents. The usefulness of the methodology is illustrated by the conversion of some of the dialkylated lactams into known synthetic precursors of alkaloids and by the total synthesis of (-)-quebrachamine.

Total synthesis of (-)- and ent-(+)-vindoline and related alkaloids

A concise 11-step total synthesis of (-)- and ent-(+)-vindoline (3) is detailed based on a unique tandem intramolecular [4 + 2]/[3 + 2] cycloaddition cascade of a 1,3,4-oxadiazole inspired by the natural product structure, in which three rings and four C-C bonds are formed central to the characteristic pentacyclic ring system setting all six stereocenters and introducing essentially all the functionality found in the natural product in a single step. As key elements of the scope and stereochemical features of the reaction were defined, a series of related natural products of increasing complexity were prepared by total synthesis including both enantiomers of minovine (4), 4-desacetoxy-6,7-dihydrovindorosine (5), 4-desacetoxyvindorosine (6), and vindorosine (7) as well as N-methylaspidospermidine (11). Subsequent extensions of the approach provided both enantiomers of 6,7-dihydrovindoline (8), 4-desacetoxyvindoline (9), and 4-desacetoxy-6,7-dihydrovindoline (10).

Total synthesis of natural (+)- [corrected] and ent-(-)-4-desacetoxy-6,7-dihydrovindorosine [corrected] and natural and ent-minovine: oxadiazole tandem intramolecular Diels-Alder/1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction

Efficient and unusually concise total syntheses of both enantiomers of the Aspidosperma alkaloids 4-desacetoxy-6,7-dihydrovindorosine (12) and minovine (1) are detailed. A tandem intramolecular Diels-Alder/1,3-dipolar cycloaddition reaction of the 1,3,4-oxadiazole 8, in which three new rings, four new C-C bonds, and five stereocenters are formed, is a key step in the sequence. The availability of optically active material permitted an assessment of the enantiomeric integrity of minovine and the source of its reported unusual optical rotation. [Reaction: see text]

Covalently linked acceptor-donor systems based on isoquinoline N-oxide acceptor: photoinduced electron transfer produces dual-channel luminescent systems that evolve chemically to photohydroxylation of the aromatic donor

Acceptor-donor compounds containing the isoquinoline N-oxide acceptor and (methoxy)(n)benzene (n = 0, 1, 2, 3) electron donors were studied. The two chromophores are connected by a CH(2) bridging unit. All acceptor-donor compounds exhibit photoinduced electron transfer in acid medium that results in the formation of a charge-transfer (CT) state. Measurements of the corresponding electronic emission spectra revealed that these bichromophoric systems exhibit a dual fluorescence that is strongly dependent on the protonation of the N-oxide function and the donor ability. The CT state responsible for the red-shifted luminescence in the studied compounds is directly connected with the initial excited state S(1). On the basis of the spectroscopic and photochemical evidence, N[bond]O scission is the dominant primary photochemical process involving the CT state, the subsequent radical coupling resulting in efficient aromatic hydroxylation. The outcome of both quenching and sensitization experiments confirms this assertion. The results strongly suggest that the ensuing photohydroxylation reaction is not a concerted process, but rather a two-step N[bond]O scission followed by C[bond]O formation, which is regioselectively guided by the electronic distribution of the resulting donor cation-radical.

Highly Enantioselective Intermolecular Cu(I)-Catalyzed Cyclopropanation of Cyclic Enol Ethers. Asymmetric Total Synthesis of (+)-Quebrachamine

A set of cyclic enol ethers derived from 2,3-dihydrofuran 35 and 3,4-dihydropyran 8 with a varying substitution pattern at the olefinic system were synthesized. Evans's ligand 5 with Cu(I)OTf was found to be an effective catalyst in the cyclopropanation reaction between cyclic enol ethers 14, 19, 28-31, and 33 and ethyl diazoacetate 6 to give diastereoselectivities up to exo/endo = 95:5 and enantioselectivities higher than 95% in nearly all cases. Because of the selective building of a quarternary carbon center and good yields in the formation of bicyclic structures 34c-h, the reaction was used as a key step in the asymmetric synthesis of (+)-quebrachamine 7, an indole alkaloid of the Aspidosperma family. After acid-induced ring opening of bicyclic compound 34f to lactone 40 followed by LiAlH(4) reduction to the masked aldehyde 41, a reaction with tryptamine gave intermediate 42. This alcohol was efficiently converted into the indole alkaloid (+)-quebrachamine 7 in an overall yield of 37% starting from the chiral synthon 34f. Moreover it revealed the absolute configuration of the quarternary center of the cyclopropanation product 34f to be S.