Total Synthesis of the Nonadjacently Linked Bis-tetrahydrofuran Acetogenin Bullatanocin (Squamostatin C)

Acetogenins from Annonaceae

In recent decades, annonaceous acetogenins have become highly studied plant secondary metabolites in terms of their isolation, structure elucidation, synthesis, biological evaluation, mechanism of action, and toxicity. The aim of the present contribution is to summarize chemical and biological reports published since 1997 on annonaceous acetogenins and synthetic acetogenin mimics. The compounds are considered biologically in terms of their cytotoxicity for cancer cell lines, neurotoxicity, pesticidal effects, and miscellaneous activities.

Total synthesis of annonaceous acetogenins belonging to the non-adjacent bis-THF and non-adjacent THF-THP sub-classes

The synthesis of the subgroups of acetogenins containing non-adjacent bis-THF and non-adjacent THF-THP core units is reviewed. Specifically, total syntheses of gigantecin, 4-deoxygigantecin, cis-sylvaticin, squamostatin-C, squamostatin-D, sylvaticin and mucocin are discussed.

Alteration of the bis-tetrahydrofuran core stereochemistries in asimicin can affect the cytotoxicity

A systematic analysis using 10 synthetic asimicin stereoisomers revealed that the stereochemistry of the bis-tetrahydrofuran core, including the tetrahydrofuran rings and the adjacent hydroxy functions, had significant effect on its cytotoxicity. Our findings set to rest the highly controversial perception that the stereochemistry of the tetrahydrofuran core has little effect on the activity, which is not true for its cytotoxic effect, and also reinforces the previous conclusion that asimicin is a highly potent anticancer compound.

Synthesis of the non-adjacent bis-THF core of cis-sylvaticin using a double oxidative cyclisation

A short synthesis of the non-adjacent bis-THF core of the Annonaceous acetogenin cis-sylvaticin (1) is described. C(2) Symmetrical (Z,E,E,Z)- and (E,E,E,E)-tetraenes and were synthesised in six and three steps respectively from (1E,5E,9E)-cyclododeca-1,5,9-triene. Subsequent permanganate promoted asymmetric bi-directional oxidative cyclisation of tetraene was used to create the non-adjacent bis-THF core of 1, installing seven of the nine stereogenic centres present in the natural product in a single step. Desymmetrization of the oxidative cyclisation product by mono-tosylation gave access to a C11-C32 fragment of cis-sylvaticin.

Synthesis and antitumor activity of C-9 epimers of the tetrahydrofuran containing acetogenin 4-deoxyannoreticuin

A highly convergent synthesis of mono-tetrahydrofuran (THF) containing acetogenins, that is based on the cross-metathesis of THF and butenolide alkene precursors, was developed. This methodology was applied to the epimers of the C-9 alcohol of 4-deoxyannoreticuin, in an attempt to assign the configuration at this position in the naturally occurring material. Unfortunately, identification of one or the other epimeric structures with the natural product was not possible because of the closeness of the physical data for all three compounds. Both C-9 epimeric analogues showed similar cytotoxicity in the low micromolar range, against two human tumor cell lines PC-3 (prostate) and Jurkat (T-cell leukemia). This result contrasts to previous studies on closely related THF acetogenins, wherein configurational variation at analogous carbinol centers resulted in a significant effect on antitumor activity.

Total Synthesis of (+)-cis-Sylvaticin: Double Oxidative Cyclization Reactions Catalyzed by Osmium

The double oxidative cyclization of dienes is a viable procedure for making complex natural products containing cis-THF units. A double deprotection/double oxidative cyclization strategy using catalytic osmium tetroxide was used to construct the bisheterocyclic core of cis-sylvaticin and ultimately confirm its structure. The natural product was then prepared by a short sequence of reactions that is exceptionally concise: the final route being just 13 linear steps and 19 chemical operations in total.

Total synthesis of (-)-mucocin

[reaction: see text] An enantioselective total synthesis of (-)-mucocin has been completed. A combination of asymmetric glycolate aldol additions and ring closing metathesis reactions were exploited to construct the C18-C34 and C7-C17 fragments. A selective cross-metathesis reaction was employed as the key step to couple two complex fragments.

Desymmetrization of diols by a tandem oxidation/Wittig olefination reaction

Diols are desymmetrized by a tandem oxidation/Wittig olefination to give alpha,beta-unsaturated hydroxy esters without the requirement for protecting group strategies; the alpha,beta-unsaturated hydroxy esters are transformed into dienyl diesters using a second oxidation/Wittig olefination sequence using PCC.

Synthesis of the non-classical acetogenin mucocin: a modular approach based on olefinic coupling reactions

A three component modular synthesis of the potent antitumor agent mucocin, based on olefinic coupling reactions, is described. A cross-metathesis on tetrahydropyran and tetrahydrofuran alkene components was used to assemble a stereochemically complex, non-adjacently-linked bicyclic ether. The latter was elaborated to a sulfone and partnered with a butenolide aldehyde component in a Julia-Kocienski olefination to provide the mucocin framework, which was converted to the natural product after hydrogenation and alcohol deprotection.