New amino acids from clitocybe acromelalga. Possible intermediates in the biogenesis of mushroom toxins, acromelic acids

Pyridine alkaloids with activity in the central nervous system

This review discusses all pyridine alkaloids with CNS activity, their therapeutic potential, and the interesting array of sources whence they originate.

New syndromes in mushroom poisoning

Several new mushroom poisoning syndromes have been described since the early 1990s. In these syndromes, the onset of symptoms generally occurs >6 hours after ingestion. Treatment is mainly supportive. The syndrome induced by Amanita smithiana/proxima consists of acute tubulopathy, which appears earlier and does not have the same poor prognosis as the orellanine-induced syndrome. It has been described since 1992 in the US and Canada with A. smithiana; in France, Spain and Italy with A. proxima; and in Japan with A. pseudoporphyria. The responsible toxin is probably 2-amino-4,5-hexadienoic acid. The erythromelalgia syndrome has been described as early as the late 19th century in Japan and South Korea with Clitocybe acromelalga, and since 1996 in France and then Italy with C. amoenolens. Responsible toxins are probably acromelic acids identified in both species. Several cases of massive rhabdomyolysis have been reported since 1993 in France and 2001 in Poland after ingestion of large amounts of an edible and, until then, valuable species called Tricholoma equestre. These cases of rhabdomyolysis are associated with respiratory and cardiac (myocarditis) complications leading to death. Rhabdomyolysis with an apparently different mechanism was described in Taiwan in 2001 with Russula subnigricans. Finally, cases of encephalopathy were observed twice after ingestion of Hapalopilus rutilans in Germany in 1992 and Pleurocybella porrigens in Japan in 2004, where a convulsive encephalopathy outbreak was reported in patients with history of chronic renal failure.

An efficient enantioselective synthesis of (S)-(-)-acromelobic acid

[reaction: see text] A highly efficient enantioselective synthesis of (S)-(-)-acromelobic acid (1) was achieved via asymmetric hydrogenation of dehydroamino acid derivative (3) using (R,R)-[Rh(DIPAMP)(COD)]BF(4) catalyst followed by removal of protective groups in >98% ee and good over all yield. The key intermediate (3) was prepared from the commercially available citrazinic acid (4) in six steps.