A chain extension method for apocarotenoids; lycopene and lycophyll syntheses

Oxo-Carotenoids as Efficient Superoxide Radical Scavengers

Oxo-carotenoids containing conjugated carbonyl groups in their chains were designed to be more efficient superoxide radical scavengers than natural carotenoids, β-carotene and canthaxanthin. A practical chain-extension method for polyene dials (e.g., crocetin dial) was also proposed based on Horner–Wadsworth–Emmons olefination. Double aldol condensation between polyene dials and acetophenones with ring substituents produced oxo-carotenoids with substituted benzene rings. The antioxidant activity of oxo-carotenoids was measured using DPPH (radical) and ABTS (cationic radical) scavenging assays and compared with the analysis with the superoxide (anionic radical) probe. An effective conjugation length by carbon–carbon double bonds is important to provide superior antioxidant activity for oxo-carotenoids, regardless of the type of radical probe used in the assay. Increasing electron density is favorable to strong antioxidant activity in DPPH, and the phenol group is favored in ABTS, whereas electron deficient oxo-carotenoids are very potent in the superoxide radical assay. All oxo-carotenoids exhibited 105~151% better superoxide radical scavenging activity compared to beta-carotene (100%), whereas 38~155% in DPPH and 16~96% in ABTS radical scavenging activities were observed.

Bromoacetate Olefination Protocol for Norbixin and Julia-Kocienski Olefination for Its Ester Syntheses

A new olefination protocol utilizing ethyl bromoacetate was highlighted, in which magnesium enolate of the ester coupled with C₂₀ dialdehyde 6, and double eliminations of the protected hydroxyl groups and bromine atoms of the coupling bromohydrin product, efficiently produced norbixin 1 after concomitant hydrolysis of the ester. A new (C₇ + C₁₀ + C₇) disconnection approach was demonstrated for the synthesis of norbixin ethyl ester 2 by the Julia-Kocienski olefination of novel C₇ benzothiazolyl-sulfone 11 and C₁₀ 2,7-dimethyl-2,4,6-octatrienedial (12).

Fast Assembly and High-Throughput Screening of Structure and Antioxidant Relationship of Carotenoids

C₂₀ heptaenyl diphosphonate 4 was prepared for one-pot synthesis of carotenoids 1. Olefination with various aromatic aldehydes allowed fast assembly of the corresponding carotenoids. The SAR of carotenoids was investigated by high-throughput screening of ABTS and DPPH assays and their hierarchical clustering analysis. Antioxidant activity of carotenoids increased with the number of electron-donating substituents. Carotene 1a with multiple electron-donating substituents was most proficient, which showed better radical scavenging activities than β-carotene and lycopene.