Synthesis of 2,3-syn-diarylpent-4-enamides via acyl-Claisen rearrangements of substituted cinnamyl morpholines: application to the synthesis of magnosalicin

Stereocontrolled syntheses of (-)- and (+)-γ-diisoeugenol along with optically active eight stereoisomers of 7,8'-epoxy-8,7'-neolignan

It was shown that reduction of the tertiary benzylic hydroxy group of (2R,3S,4R,5S)-3,5-bis(4-benzyloxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2,4-dimethyltetrahydro-3-furanol 17 followed by the intramolecular Friedel-Crafts reaction gave exclusively indane with (7S,7'S,8R,8'R)-2,7'-cyclo-7,8'-neolignan structure 18 along with (7S,7'R,8S,8'R)-7,8'-epoxy-8,7'-neolignan structure 19. Indane 18 was converted to (-)-γ-diisoeugenol ((-)-4). On the other hand, (2S,3R,4R,5S)-3,5-bis(4-benzyloxy-3-methoxyphenyl)-2,4-dimethyltetrahydro-3-furanol 22 did not afford indane, but the tetrahydrofuran structure with (7S,7'S,8S,8'S)-7,8'-epoxy-8,7'-neolignan structure 23 and 7'-epi-23.

Polygala tenuifolia-Acori tatarinowii herbal pair as an inspiration for substituted cinnamic α-asaronol esters: Design, synthesis, anticonvulsant activity, and inhibition of lactate dehydrogenase study

Inspired by the traditional Chinese herbal pair of Polygala tenuifolia-Acori Tatarinowii for treating epilepsy, 33 novel substituted cinnamic α-asaronol esters and analogues were designed by Combination of Traditional Chinese Medicine Molecular Chemistry (CTCMMC) strategy, synthesized and tested systematically not only for anticonvulsant activity in three mouse models but also for LDH inhibitory activity. Thereinto, 68-70 and 75 displayed excellent and broad spectra of anticonvulsant activities with modest ability in preventing neuropathic pain, as well as low neurotoxicity. The protective indices of these four compounds compared favorably with stiripentol, lacosamide, carbamazepine and valproic acid. 68-70 exhibited good LDH1 and LDH5 inhibitory activities with noncompetitive inhibition type, and were more potent than stiripentol. Notably, 70, as a representative agent, was also shown as a moderately positive allosteric modulator at human α1β2γ2 GABA_A receptors (EC₅₀ 46.3 ± 7.3 μM). Thus, 68-70 were promising candidates for developing into anti-epileptic drugs, especially for treatment of refractory epilepsies such as Dravet syndrome.

Stereoselective Total Synthesis of (+)-Aristolactam GI

Aristolactams are an important subgroup of aporphinoids, which all share a common phenanthrene chromophore motif that is thought to be responsible for the range of interesting physicochemical and biological properties exhibited by these compounds. Among all of the aristolactams discovered, (+)-aristolactam GI displays a unique structural feature of having the aristolactam scaffold linked via a benzodioxane ring to a phenyl propanoid unit, resulting in the compound being an aporphinoid-lignan hybrid. The synthesis of (+)-aristolactam GI was achieved first by synthesis of an orthogonally protected aristolactam, which was prepared using a Suzuki/aldol cascade to convert a differentially protected isoindolin-1-one to the required phenanthrene. The required enantiopure phenyl propanoid unit was prepared from readily available ( R)-methyl lactate. A selective Mitsunobu reaction was used to combine these two key fragments, prior to the formation of the linking benzodioxane in the final step. The absolute stereochemistry of the natural product was confirmed to be 7' S, 8' S.

Lignans: A Chemometric Analysis

The physicochemical properties of classical lignans, neolignans, flavonolignans and carbohydrate-lignan conjugates (CLCs) were analysed to assess their ADMET profiles and establish if these compounds are lead-like/drug-like and thus have potential to be or act as leads in the development of future therapeutics. It was found that while no studied compounds were lead-like, a very large proportion (>75%) fulfilled all the requirements to be deemed as present in drug-like space and almost all compounds studied were in the known drug space. Principal component analysis was an effective technique that enabled the investigation of the relationship between the studied molecular descriptors and was able to separate the lignans from their sugar derivatives and flavonolignans, primarily according to the parameters that are considered when defining chemical space (i.e., number of hydrogen bond donors, acceptors, rotatable bonds, polar surface area and molecular weight). These results indicate that while CLCs and flavonolignans are less drug-like, lignans show a particularly high level of drug-likeness, an observation that coupled with their potent biological activities, demands future pursuit into their potential for use as therapeutics.

Pd-Catalyzed Site-Selective Mono-allylic Substitution and Bis-arylation by Directed Allylic C-H Activation: Synthesis of anti-γ-(Aryl,Styryl)-β-hydroxy Acids and Highly Substituted Tetrahydrofurans

An efficient palladium-catalyzed site-selective arylation of γ-vinyl-γ-lactone by aryl boronic acid has been developed. γ-Vinyl-γ-lactone 1a has been contemplated as allyl electrophile donor for allylic arylation via π-allyl palladium intermediate using 1.5 equiv of aryl boronic acid 2. Using 3.0 equiv of the latter resulted in mono-arylation by allylic substitution and subsequent site-selective second arylation by directed allylic C-H activation giving stereoselectively anti-γ-(aryl,styryl)-β-hydroxy acids. Presence of O₂ was crucial for the second arylation via Pd(II) catalysis. Thus, a good synergy of dual catalysis by Pd(0) and Pd(II) was observed. This methodology has been elaborated to synthesize highly substituted tetrahydrofurans including aryl-Hagen's gland lactone analogues via intramolecular iodoetherification.

Synthesis of the furo[2,3-b]chromene ring system of hyperaspindols A and B

The synthesis of the unique furo[2,3-b]chromene ring system found in hyperaspidinols A and B, acylphloroglucinols from Hypericum chinense has been achieved in twelve steps. By comparison of the NMR spectra of the synthesized compounds with those of the natural products, a relative stereochemistry is suggested, especially that of the ketal carbon.