Orally-effective, long-acting sorbitol dehydrogenase inhibitors: synthesis, structure-activity relationships, and in vivo evaluations of novel heterocycle-substituted piperazino-pyrimidines

An Overview of the Biological Evaluation of Selected Nitrogen-Containing Heterocycle Medicinal Chemistry Compounds

Heterocyclic compounds are a class of compounds of natural origin with favorable properties and hence have major pharmaceutical significance. They have an exceptional adroitness favoring their use as diverse smart biomimetics, in addition to possessing an active pharmacophore in a complex structure. This has made them an indispensable motif in the drug discovery field. Heterocyclic compounds are usually classified according to the ring size, type, and the number of heteroatoms present in the ring. Among different heterocyclic ring systems, nitrogen heterocyclic compounds are more abundant in nature. They also have considerable pharmacological significance. This review highlights recent pioneering studies in the biological assessment of nitrogen-containing compounds, namely: triazoles, tetrazoles, imidazole/benzimidazoles, pyrimidines, and quinolines. It explores publications between April 2020 and February 2022 and will benefit researchers in medicinal chemistry and pharmacology. The present work is organized based on the size of the heterocyclic ring.

Bivalent AMPA receptor positive allosteric modulators of the bis(pyrimidine) series

The first example of a novel class of AMPA receptor positive allosteric modulators of the bis(pyrimidine) series having a hydroquinone linker has been obtained and showed a potency to increase kainate-induced currents at subnanomolar concentrations.

Stereoselective synthesis of oxazolidinonyl-fused piperidines of interest as selective muscarinic (M1) receptor agonists: a novel M1 allosteric modulator

Syntheses of (1RS,2SR,6SR)-2-alkoxymethyl-, 2-hetaryl-, and 2-(hetarylmethyl)-7-arylmethyl-4,7-diaza-9-oxabicyclo[4.3.0]nonan-8-ones, of interest as potential muscarinic M1 receptor agonists, are described. A key step in the synthesis of (1RS,2SR,6SR)-7-benzyl-6-cyclobutyl-2-methoxymethyl-4,7-diaza-9-oxabicyclo[4.3.0]nonan-8-one, was the addition of isopropenylmagnesium bromide to 2-benzyloxycarbonylamino-3-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy-2-cyclobutylpropanal. This gave the 4-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxymethyl-4-cyclobutyl-5-isopropenyloxazolidinone with the 5-isopropenyl and 4-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxymethyl groups cis-disposed about the five-membered ring by chelation controlled addition and in situ cyclisation. This reaction was useful for a range of organometallic reagents. The hydroboration-oxidation of (4SR,5RS)-3-benzyl-4-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxymethyl)-4-cyclobutyl-5-(1-methoxyprop-2-en-2-yl)-1,3-oxazolidin-2-one gave (4SR,5RS)-3-benzyl-4-(tert-butyldimethylsilyloxymethyl)-4-cyclobutyl-5-[(SR)-1-hydroxy-3-methoxyprop-2-yl]-1,3-oxazolidin-2-one stereoselectively. 4,7-Diaza-9-oxabicyclo[4.3.0]nonan-8-ones with substituents at C2 that could facilitate C2 deprotonation were unstable with respect to oxazolidinone ring-opening and this restricted both the synthetic approach and choice of 2-heteroaryl substituent. The bicyclic system with a 2-furyl substituent at C2 was therefore identified as an important target. The addition of 1-lithio-1-(2-furyl)ethene to 2-benzyloxycarbonylamino-3-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxy-2-cyclobutylpropanal gave (4SR,5RS)-4-tert-butyldimethylsilyloxymethyl-4-cyclobutyl-5-[1-(2-furyl)ethenyl]-1,3-oxazolidinone after chelation controlled addition and in situ cyclisation. Following oxazolidinone N-benzylation, hydroboration at 35 °C, since hydroboration at 0 °C was unexpectedly selective for the undesired isomer, followed by oxidation gave a mixture of side-chain epimeric alcohols that were separated after SEM-protection and selective desilylation. Conversion of the neopentylic alcohols into the corresponding primary amines by reductive amination, was followed by N-nosylation, removal of the SEM-groups and cyclisation using a Mitsunobu reaction. Denosylation then gave the 2-furyloxazolidinonyl-fused piperidines, the (1RS,2SR,6SR)-epimer showing an allosteric agonistic effect on M1 receptors. Further studies resulted in the synthesis of other 2-substituted 4,7-diaza-9-oxabicyclo[4.3.0]nonan-8-ones and an analogous tetrahydropyran.

Design of New Ligands for the Palladium-Catalyzed Arylation of α-Branched Secondary Amines

In Pd-catalyzed C-N cross-coupling reactions, α-branched secondary amines are difficult coupling partners and the desired products are often produced in low yields. In order to provide a robust method for accessing N-aryl α-branched tertiary amines, new catalysts have been designed to suppress undesired side reactions often encountered when these amine nucleophiles are used. These advances enabled the arylation of a wide array of sterically encumbered amines, highlighting the importance of rational ligand design in facilitating challenging Pd-catalyzed cross-coupling reactions.

Quantum chemical calculations on elucidation of molecular structure and spectroscopic insights on 2-amino-4-methoxy-6-methylpyrimidine and 2-amino-5-bromo-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinol--a comparative study

The FTIR and FT-Raman spectra of 2-amino-4-methoxy-6-methylpyrimidine (AMMP) and 2-amino-5-bromo-6-methyl-4-pyrimidinol (ABMP) have been recorded in the region 4000-450 and 4000-100 cm(-1), respectively. The optimized geometry, frequency and intensity of the vibrational bands of AMMP and ABMP were obtained by the density functional theory (DFT) using 6-311++G(∗∗) basis set. The harmonic vibrational frequencies were calculated and the scaled values have been compared with experimental FTIR and FT-Raman spectra. The observed and the calculated frequencies are found to be in good agreement. The (1)H and (13)C NMR spectra have been recorded. The (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts of the molecule were also calculated using the gauge independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method. The theoretical UV-visible spectrum of the compound using TD-DFT method and the electronic properties, such as HOMO and LUMO energies, are performed by time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) approach. The calculated HOMO and LUMO energies show that charge transfer occurs within molecule. The first order hyperpolarizability (β0) and its related components of AMMP and ABMP are calculated using DFT/6-311++G(∗∗) method on the finite-field approach. The natural atomic charges of the molecules were also discussed. The change in electron density (ED) in the σ(∗) antibonding orbitals and stabilization energies E(2) have been calculated by natural bond orbital (NBO) analysis to give clear evidence of stabilization originating in the hyper conjugation of hydrogen-bonded interactions.

Inhibition of sorbitol dehydrogenase by nucleosides and nucleotides

Sorbitol dehydrogenase inhibitors have been found to prevent, or alleviate, various secondary complications of diabetes mellitus. In the present study, the effects of nucleosides and nucleotides on the rate of sorbitol oxidation catalyzed by the sheep liver enzyme were studied by steady-state kinetics at pH 7.4. Various such compounds, including ATP and the 2'-deoxy-analogues of ATP, ADP and AMP, reversibly inhibit enzyme activity by formation of enzyme-coenzyme-inhibitor ternary complexes. In each case, no deviations from linearity were seen in the double-reciprocal plots using sorbitol or NAD(+) as the varied substrate and there was a linear relationship between inhibitor concentration and the observed inhibitory effects. Sorbitol was docked into a model of the sheep SDH-NAD(+) complex based upon the structure of the human SDH-NAD(+) holoenzyme. The resulting structure of the ternary complex of sheep SDH, NAD(+) and sorbitol (PMDB ID code PM 0078068) shows that the reactive C-2 hydroxyl group of sorbitol is oriented toward the 4'-position of the nicotinamide moiety of the coenzyme, and that the adjacent primary hydroxyl group of sorbitol interacts with the catalytic zinc. The results indicate that the ribose moiety of the inhibitor structures is an important determinant for the observed effects. Specifically, the 2'-position of the ribose ring exerts an effect with respect to inhibitor potency.

Effects of some anti-neoplastic drugs on sheep liver sorbitol dehydrogenase

Stress is an important factor for many diseases in living metabolisms. The mini pathway named as polyol is a critical junction for stress factors. This pathway has two enzymes: aldose reductase (AR) and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH). It is linked with some diseases such as diabetes mellitus and some cancer types. In particular, SDH is very sensitive and unstable in in vitro conditions. In this study, SDH was purified by using simple and rapid chromatographic methods such as DEAE-Sephadex and CM-Sephadex C-50 columns. Subunit and active form molecular weights were found as 39.8 kDa and 150 kDa, respectively. The in vitro effects of some antineoplastic drugs were investigated. IC(50) values were 0.025, 0.081, 0.291, 1.62, 4.86, 6.54 mM for dacarbazine, methotrexate, epirubicin hydrochloride, calcium folinate, gemcitabine hydrochloride, oxaliplatin, respectively. From these results, dacarbazine was lowest IC(50) value and it is the strongest inhibitor for liver SDH enzyme activity compared to the other drugs.

Quantum mechanical study of the structure and spectroscopic (FT-IR, FT-Raman, 13C, 1H and UV), NBO and HOMO-LUMO analysis of 2-quinoxaline carboxylic acid

The FTIR and FT-Raman spectra of 2-quinoxaline carboxylic acid (2-QCA) has been recorded in the region 4000-450 and 4000-100 cm(-1), respectively. The conformational analysis, optimized geometry, frequency and intensity of the vibrational bands of 2-QCA were obtained by the density functional theory (DFT) with complete relaxation in the potential energy surface using 6-31G(d) basis set. The harmonic vibrational frequencies were calculated and the scaled values have been compared with experimental FTIR and FT-Raman spectra. The observed and the calculated frequencies are found to be in good agreement. The (1)H and(13)C NMR spectra have been recorded and (1)H and (13)C nuclear magnetic resonance chemical shifts of the molecule were also calculated using the gauge independent atomic orbital (GIAO) method and their respective linear correlations were obtained. The theoretical UV-visible spectrum of the compound using CIS method and the electronic properties, such as HOMO and LUMO energies, were performed by time-dependent DFT (TD-DFT) approach. The calculated HOMO and LUMO energies show that charge transfer occurs within molecule. The Mulliken charges, the values of electric dipole moment (μ) of the molecule were computed using DFT calculations. The change in electron density (ED) in the σ* antibonding orbitals and stabilization energies E(2) have been calculated by natural bond (NBO) analysis to give clear evidence of stabilization originating in the hyper conjugation of hydrogen-bonded interactions.

Pharmacokinetics, pharmacodynamics, tolerability, and safety of a novel sorbitol dehydrogenase inhibitor in healthy participants

Increased glucose flux through the polyol pathway and the resultant oxidative stress is thought to be a major mechanistic contributor to microvascular diabetic complications. Inhibition of flux through this pathway can be blocked through inhibition of either of 2 enzymes, aldose reductase (AR) or sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH). This report describes the pharmacokinetics, biomarker pharmacodynamics, and safety of CP-642,931, a potent and specific sorbitol dehydrogenase inhibitor (SDI). CP-642,931 was administered for 7 days to 57 healthy volunteers in doses ranging from 1 to 35 mg daily. After the 35-mg dose, CP-642,931 showed a t((1/2)) of 20.1 hours and t(max) at 0.5 to 1.25 hours. After a 35-mg dose, maximum inhibition of SDH was 91% (on days 1 and 7), and maximum serum sorbitol increase was 152-fold on day 7 compared to control. Five participants discontinued the study due to adverse events, including myalgia, muscle spasm, and muscle fatigue. All symptoms resolved in all but 1 participant, who continued to report intermittent muscle fasciculations upon follow-up. In conclusion, CP-642,931 is a potent and specific SDI that is rapidly absorbed through the oral route and effectively inhibits SDH. However, the drug is not well tolerated due to adverse neuromuscular effects.

A diversity oriented, microwave assisted synthesis of N-substituted 2-hydro-4-amino-pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7(8H)-ones

A protocol for the synthesis of N-substituted 2-hydro-4-amino-pyrido[2,3-d]pyrimidin-7(8H)-ones (11) is described. Thus, the formylation of a 2-aminopyridone 12 in 85% formic acid/Ac(2)O, proceeding via in situ cyclization to the intermediate formamide 13, affords the corresponding 2-hydro-4-oxo-pyridopyrimidine 14, which is converted to a 4-chloro-pyridopyrimidine 15 upon treatment with POCl(3). The subsequent transformation to the title compounds is carried by treatment with the corresponding amine in MeOH under microwave irradiation conditions.

Polyol pathway mediates iron-induced oxidative injury in ischemic-reperfused rat heart

Recent studies have shown that the polyol pathway is involved in ischemia-reperfusion (I/R)-induced myocardial infarction, but the mechanism is unclear. We previously found that lack of aldose reductase (AR), the first enzyme of the polyol pathway, attenuated the increase in transferrin (Tf) level in I/R brain, suggesting that AR contributes to iron-catalyzed free radical-induced damage. We therefore investigated if this mechanism occurs in I/R hearts. We found that inhibition of AR or sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), the second enzyme of the polyol pathway, both attenuated the I/R-mediated increases in HIF-1alpha, Tf, TfR, and intracellular iron content and reduced the I/R-induced infarct area of the heart. Further, administration of niacin, which replenishes NAD+, the cofactor for SDH, also normalized TfR and HIF-1alpha levels in I/R hearts. These results suggest that during I/R polyol pathway activity increases the cytosolic NADH/NAD+ ratio. This activates HIF-1alpha that induces the expression of TfR, which in turn increases Tf uptake and iron accumulation and exacerbates oxidative damage that increases the lipid peroxidation. This was confirmed by the fact that administration of the iron chelator deferoxamine attenuated the I/R-induced myocardial infarction.

A concise asymmetric synthesis of cis-2,6-disubstituted N-aryl piperazines via Pd-catalyzed carboamination reactions

A concise, modular, asymmetric synthesis of cis-2,6-disubstituted piperazines from readily available amino acid precursors is described. The key step in the synthesis is a Pd-catalyzed carboamination of a N1-aryl-N2-allyl-1,2-diamine with an aryl bromide. The products are obtained in 14-20:1 dr, with >97% ee, and the key cyclizations are the first examples of six-membered ring formation via Pd-catalyzed carboamination reactions of unsaturated amines with aryl halides.

Gene deletion and pharmacological inhibition of aldose reductase protect against retinal ischemic injury

Retinal ischemic injury is common in patients with diabetes, atherosclerosis, hypertension, transient ischemia attack and amaurosis fugax. Previously, signs of ischemic stress, such as pericyte loss, blood-retinal barrier breakdown and neovascularization, which can lead to occlusion of retinal vessels, have been prevented in diabetic db/db mice with aldose reductase (AR) null mutation. To determine the role in retinal ischemic injury of AR and sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH), the first and second enzymes in the polyol pathway, mice with deletion of AR (AR(-/-)) or SDH-mutation (SDH(-/-)), or C57BL/6N mice treated with AR or SDH inhibitors were subjected to transient retinal artery occlusion (2h of occlusion and 22h of reperfusion) by the intraluminal suture method. Neuronal loss and edema observed in wildtype (AR(+/+)) retinas after transient ischemia were prevented in the retinas of AR(-/-) mice or C57BL/6N mice treated with an AR inhibitor, Fidarestat. Fewer TUNEL-positive cells and smaller accumulations of nitrotyrosine and poly(ADP-ribose) were also observed in the retinas of AR(-/-) mice. However, SDH(-/-) mice and C57BL/6N mice treated with SDH inhibitor, CP-470,711, were not protected against ischemia-induced retinal damage. Taken together, AR contributes to retinal ischemic injury through increased edema and free radical accumulation. Therefore, AR inhibition should be considered for the treatment of retinal ischemic injury often observed in diabetic patients.

Stereoselective Synthesis of Saturated Heterocycles via Pd-Catalyzed Alkene Carboetherification and Carboamination Reactions

The development of Pd-catalyzed carboetherification and carboamination reactions between aryl/alkenyl halides and alkenes bearing pendant heteroatoms is described. These transformations effect the stereoselective construction of useful heterocycles such as tetrahydrofurans, pyrrolidines, imidazolidin-2-ones, isoxazolidines, and piperazines. The scope, limitations, and applications of these reactions are presented, and current stereochemical models are described. The mechanism of product formation, which involves an unusual intramolecular syn-insertion of an alkene into a Pd-Heteroatom bond is also discussed in detail.

Aldose reductase inhibitors improve myocardial reperfusion injury in mice by a dual mechanism

Aldose reductase (AR) has been implicated in the pathogenesis of diabetic complications, although the clinical efficacy of AR inhibitors has not been clearly proven. To clarify the pathophysiological role of AR in the heart, we investigated effects of AR inhibitors applied either during the pre-ischemic phase, or during the post-ischemic reperfusion phase on ischemia-reperfusion injury in isolated heart from transgenic mice overexpressing human AR. On reperfusion following global ischemia, transgenic mouse hearts exhibited lower left developed pressure, increased release of creatine kinase, and lower ATP content compared with their littermates. When inhibitors of AR were applied during the pre-ischemic phase, they significantly improved deranged cardiac function, creatine kinase release, and ATP content. On the other hand, inhibition of AR during the post-ischemic reperfusion phase did not affect cardiac performance and ATP content, but it significantly attenuated creatine kinase release and the level of thiobarbiturate-reactive substances in transgenic mouse hearts. These results suggest a dual role of AR in ischemia-reperfusion injury. Inhibition of AR during ischemia preserved generation of ATP via glycolysis, whereas inhibition during the reperfusion phase reduced myocardial injury by attenuating oxidative stress elicited by ischemic insult and reoxygenation.

Steady-state kinetic properties of sorbitol dehydrogenase from chicken liver

The steady-state kinetic properties of partially purified chicken liver sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) were determined spectrophotometrically at 25 degrees C, in 50 mM 3-(N-morpholino)propanesulfonic acid (MOPS) buffer, pH 8.0. In the sorbitol-to-fructose direction, analysis was based on initial rate data obtained at [NAD(+)](o)=0.1-0.4 mM and [sorbitol](o)=1.25-10 mM. The reverse process was analyzed by recording progress curves for NADH consumption, starting with [NADH](o)=0.2 mM and [fructose](o)=66.7-267 mM. The kinetics conformed to an ordered sequential model, with the cofactors adding first. The steady-state parameters in the forward direction, K(NAD(+)), K(iNAD(+)) and K(sorbitol), were found to be 210+/-62 muM, 220+/-69 microM and 3.2+/-0.54 mM, respectively. The corresponding parameters in the reverse direction were K(NADH)=240+/-58 microM, K(iNADH)=10+/-2.8 microM and K(fructose)=1000+/-140 mM. The results indicated a close parallelism with human SDH, yet up to 40-fold differences were observed when compared to related reports on other mammalian species. The structural and adaptive bases of the variation in substrate and cofactor affinities need to be accounted for.

A potent sorbitol dehydrogenase inhibitor exacerbates sympathetic autonomic neuropathy in rats with streptozotocin-induced diabetes

We have developed an animal model of diabetic sympathetic autonomic neuropathy which is characterized by neuroaxonal dystrophy (NAD), an ultrastructurally distinctive axonopathy, in chronic streptozotocin (STZ)-diabetic rats. Diabetes-induced alterations in the sorbitol pathway occur in sympathetic ganglia and therapeutic agents which inhibit aldose reductase or sorbitol dehydrogenase improve or exacerbate, respectively, diabetes-induced NAD. The sorbitol dehydrogenase inhibitor SDI-711 (CP-470711, Pfizer) is approximately 50-fold more potent than the structurally related compound SDI-158 (CP 166,572) used in our earlier studies. Treatment with SDI-711 (5 mg/kg/day) for 3 months increased ganglionic sorbitol (26-40 fold) and decreased fructose content (20-75%) in control and diabetic rats compared to untreated animals. SDI-711 treatment of diabetic rats produced a 2.5- and 4-5-fold increase in NAD in the SMG and ileal mesenteric nerves, respectively, in comparison to untreated diabetics. Although SDI-711 treatment of non-diabetic control rat ganglia increased ganglionic sorbitol 40-fold (a value 8-fold higher than untreated diabetics), the frequency of NAD remained at control levels. Levels of ganglionic sorbitol pathway intermediates in STZ-treated rats (a model of type 1 diabetes) and Zucker Diabetic Fatty rats (ZDF, a genetic model of type 2 diabetes) were comparable, although STZ-diabetic rats develop NAD and ZDF-diabetic rats do not. SDI failed to increase diabetes-related ganglionic NGF above levels seen in untreated diabetics. Initiation of Sorbinil treatment for the last 4 months of a 9 month course of diabetes, substantially reversed the frequency of established NAD in the diabetic rat SMG without affecting the metabolic severity of diabetes. These findings indicate that sorbitol pathway-linked metabolic alterations play an important role in the development of NAD, but sorbitol pathway activity, not absolute levels of sorbitol or fructose per se, may be most critical to its pathogenesis.

Sorbitol dehydrogenase: a novel target for adjunctive protection of ischemic myocardium

Sorbitol dehydrogenase (SDH) is a polyol pathway enzyme that catalyzes conversion of sorbitol to fructose. Recent studies have demonstrated that activation of aldose reductase, the first enzyme of the polyol pathway, is a key response to ischemia and that inhibition of aldose reductase reduces myocardial ischemic injury. In our efforts to understand the role of pathway in affecting metabolism under normoxic and ischemic conditions, as well as in ischemic injury in myocardium, we investigated the importance of SDH by use of a specific inhibitor (SDI), CP-470,711. SDH inhibition increased glucose oxidation, whereas palmitate oxidation remained unaffected. Global ischemia increased myocardial SDH activity by approximately 1.5 fold. The tissue lactate/pyruvate ratio, a measure of cytosolic NADH/NAD+, was reduced by SDH inhibition under both normoxic and ischemic conditions. ATP was higher in SDI hearts during ischemia and reperfusion. Creatine kinase release during reperfusion, a marker of myocardial ischemic injury, was markedly attenuated in SDH-inhibited hearts. These data indicate that myocardial SDH activation is a component of ischemic response and that interventions that inhibit SDH protect ischemic myocardium. Furthermore, these data identify SDH as a novel target for adjunctive cardioprotective interventions.

X-ray crystallographic and kinetic studies of human sorbitol dehydrogenase

Sorbitol dehydrogenase (hSDH) and aldose reductase form the polyol pathway that interconverts glucose and fructose. Redox changes from overproduction of the coenzyme NADH by SDH may play a role in diabetes-induced dysfunction in sensitive tissues, making SDH a therapeutic target for diabetic complications. We have purified and determined the crystal structures of human SDH alone, SDH with NAD(+), and SDH with NADH and an inhibitor that is competitive with fructose. hSDH is a tetramer of identical, catalytically active subunits. In the apo and NAD(+) complex, the catalytic zinc is coordinated by His69, Cys44, Glu70, and a water molecule. The inhibitor coordinates the zinc through an oxygen and a nitrogen atom with the concomitant dissociation of Glu70. The inhibitor forms hydrophobic interactions to NADH and likely sterically occludes substrate binding. The structure of the inhibitor complex provides a framework for developing more potent inhibitors of hSDH.

The use of trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal or hydrate in a simple and practical regioselective synthesis of beta-hydroxy-beta-trifluoromethyl ketones from enamines and imines

The reaction of trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal or hydrate with an equimolar amount of enamines, derived from various methyl ketones, smoothly proceeded to give the corresponding beta-hydroxy-beta-trifluoromethyl ketones in high yields. An equimolar amount of imines derived from various methyl ketones with aliphatic, aromatic, and heteroaromatic substituents also readily reacted with trifluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal or hydrate to afford the corresponding beta-hydroxy-beta-trifluoromethyl ketones in good to excellent yields. Difluoroacetaldehyde ethyl hemiacetal as well as pentafluoropropionaldehyde also participated in the reaction, affording good yields of the corresponding beta-hydroxy-beta-difluoromethyl or beta-pentafluoropropyl ketones.

SAR and species/stereo-selective metabolism of the sorbitol dehydrogenase inhibitor, CP-470,711

SAR studies on the stereoisomers of CP-470,711 suggested that in vivo epimerization was taking place in rats. Further metabolism studies revealed that no epimerization was occurring in dogs, and that no epimerization was expected in humans. A mechanism for the in vivo epimerization is proposed involving an oxidation-reduction pathway of the secondary benzylic alcohol, in contrast to an acid/base-promoted epimerization of the same center during chemical synthesis.