Total Synthesis of Uniflorine A, Casuarine, Australine, 3-epi-Australine, and 3,7-Di-epi-australine from a Common Precursor

Recent advances in the total synthesis of polyhydroxylated alkaloids via chiral oxazines

This review summarizes recently established methodologies developed for the enantioselective and diastereoselective synthesis of chiral 1,3-oxazines. These compounds are of interest as advanced synthetic intermediates in the total synthesis of structurally complex and biologically active polyhydroxylated alkaloids such as (+)-1-deoxynojirimycin, (-)-anisomycin, (+)-castanospermine, (+)-casuarine, (-)-conduramine F-1, (-)-sphingofungin B, Neu5Ac methyl ester, and other natural products. The devised synthetic approach aims to offer a direct, efficient, and adaptable method for obtaining both pure enantiomers and pure diastereomers. It revolves around utilizing chiral building blocks like syn,syn-, syn,syn,anti-, syn,anti-, syn,anti,syn-, anti,syn-, anti,syn,syn-, and anti,syn,anti-oxazines. By integrating oxazine chemistry with established and innovative transformations, this approach enabled the synthesis of 30 polyhydroxylated amines across various studies conducted between 2007 and 2022.

Stereoselective Total Synthesis of (+)-Casuarine via a Functionalized Pyrrolidine

The stereoselective total synthesis of (+)-casuarine has been achieved via a functionalized pyrrolidine obtained from a chiral 1,3-oxazine. The synthetic strategy includes a stereoselective dihydroxylation reaction using osmium tetroxide and stereoselective Grignard-type vinyl addition reaction as the key steps to generate the two new stereocenters. The dihydroxylation catalyzed by osmium tetroxide formed anti-amino alcohol, and the vinyl addition formed syn-alcohol. (+)-Casuarine was prepared from the functionalized pyrrolidine over 11 steps in an overall yield of 16%.

Stereocomplementary synthesis of casuarine and its 6-epi-, 7-epi-, and 6,7-diepi-stereoisomers

Four diastereomers belonging to the family of casuarines, including casuarine (1), 6-epi-casuarine (2), 7-epi-casuarine (13) and 6,7-diepi-casuarine (14), have been synthesized from D-arabinose-derived cyclic nitrone 7 and nitrone-derived aldehyde 4 by a stereocomplementary strategy. Glycosidase inhibition comparison showed that 6-epi-casuarine (2) exhibits enhanced inhibition of trehalase (IC₅₀ = 9.7 μM) and 6,7-diepi-casuarine (14) leads to specific inhibition of trehalase.

A sequential Ugi–Smiles/transition-metal-free endo-dig Conia–ene cyclization: the selective synthesis of saccharin substituted 2,5-dihydropyrroles

A convenient, transition-metal-free access to a series of unprecedented saccharin substituted 2,5-dihydropyrroles is reported.

Two decades of recent advances of Ugi reactions: synthetic and pharmaceutical applications

Multicomponent reactions (MCRs) are powerful synthetic tools in which more than two starting materials couple with each other to form multi-functionalized compounds in a one-pot process, the so-called "tandem", "domino" or "cascade" reaction, or utilizing an additional step without changing the solvent, the so-called a sequential-addition procedure, to limit the number of synthetic steps, while increasing the complexity and the molecular diversity, which are highly step-economical reactions. The Ugi reaction, one of the most common multicomponent reactions, has recently fascinated chemists with the high diversity brought by its four- or three-component-based isonitrile. The Ugi reaction has been introduced in organic synthesis as a novel, efficient and useful tool for the preparation of libraries of multifunctional peptides, natural products, and heterocyclic compounds with stereochemistry control. In this review, we highlight the recent advances of the Ugi reaction in the last two decades from 2000-2019, mainly in the synthesis of linear or cyclic peptides, heterocyclic compounds with versatile ring sizes, and natural products, as well as the enantioselective Ugi reactions. Meanwhile, the applications of these compounds in pharmaceutical trials are also discussed.

New Frontiers on Human Safe Insecticides and Fungicides: An Opinion on Trehalase Inhibitors

In the era of green economy, trehalase inhibitors represent a valuable chance to develop non-toxic pesticides, being hydrophilic compounds that do not persist in the environment. The lesson on this topic that we learned from the past can be of great help in the research on new specific green pesticides. This review aims to describe the efforts made in the last 50 years in the evaluation of natural compounds and their analogues as trehalase inhibitors, in view of their potential use as insecticides and fungicides. Specifically, we analyzed trehalase inhibitors based on sugars and sugar mimics, focusing on those showing good inhibition properties towards insect trehalases. Despite their attractiveness as a target, up to now there are no trehalase inhibitors that have been developed as commercial insecticides. Although natural complex pseudo di- and trisaccharides were firstly studied to this aim, iminosugars look to be more promising, showing an excellent specificity profile towards insect trehalases. The results reported here represent an overview and a discussion of the best candidates which may lead to the development of an effective insecticide in the future.

Reactivity and Synthetic Applications of Multicomponent Petasis Reactions

The Petasis boron-Mannich reaction, simply referred to as the Petasis reaction, is a powerful multicomponent coupling reaction of a boronic acid, an amine, and a carbonyl derivative. Highly functionalized amines with multiple stereogenic centers can be efficiently accessed via the Petasis reaction with high levels of both diastereoselectivity and enantioselectivity. By drawing attention to examples reported in the past 8 years, this Review demonstrates the breadth of the reactivity and synthetic applications of Petasis reactions in several frontiers: the expansion of the substrate scope in the classic three-component process; nonclassic Petasis reactions with additional components; Petasis-type reactions with noncanonical substrates, mechanism, and products; new asymmetric versions assisted by chiral catalysts; combinations with a secondary or tertiary transformation in a cascade- or sequence-specific manner to access structurally complex, natural-product-like heterocycles; and the synthesis of polyhydroxy alkaloids and biologically interesting molecules.

Design and total synthesis of (-)-codonopsinine, (-)-codonopsine and codonopsinine analogues by O-(2-oxopyrrolidin-5-yl)trichloroacetimidate as amidoalkylating agent with improved antimicrobial activity via solid lipid nanoparticle formulations

A general strategy towards total synthesis of (-)-codonopsinine, (-)-codonopsine and codonopsinine analogues has been developed from (D)-tartaric acid via the intermediate (3S,4R)-1-methyl-2-oxo-5-(2,2,2-trichloroacetamido)pyrrolidinediacetate (7). α-amidoalkylation studies of 7 with electron rich benzene derivative 8a-g as C-nucleophiles afforded (aryl derivatives) 9a-g. The target compounds 1, 2 and 13c-g were readily obtained from 10a-gvia Grignard addition to the homochiral lactam which was produced by deoxygenation using Lewis-acid followed by deacetylation. The synthesized compounds were loaded onto solid lipid nanoparticle formulations (SLNs) prepared by hot emulsification-ultrasonication technique using Compritol as solid lipid and Pluronic f68 as surfactant. SLNs were fully evaluated and the permeation of synthesized compound from SLNs was assayed against non-formulated compounds through dialysis membranes using Franz cell. The data indicated good physical characteristics of the prepared SLNs, sustaining of release profiles and significant improvement of permeation ability when compared to the non-formulated compounds. The antibacterial and antifungal activities of 1, 2 and 13c-g were determined by disc diffusion and microbroth dilution method to determine the minimum inhibitory concentrations (MIC) against seven microorganisms (Staphyloccus aureus, Escherichia coli, Klebsiella pneumoniae, Proteus mirabilis, Pseudomonas aeruginosa, Acinetobacter baumannii and Candida albicans). The most active compounds against the Gram positive S. aureus were 1, 13C, 13d, and 13g. Also, 13c, 13d, and 13e had antibacterial activity but not 13f against some Gram negative organisms (E. coli, and P. mirabilis). MIC concentrations against P. aeruginosa, and K. pneumoniae were ≥512 μg/ml, while that against A. baumannii was ≥128 μg/ml except for nanoformulae of 13e and 13f that were 16 and 64 μg/ml, respectively. No antifungal activity against Candida albicans was recorded for all compounds and their nanoformulae (MIC > 1024 μg/ml). SLNs were found to decrease the MIC values for some of the compounds with no effect on the antifungal activity. In conclusion, we demonstrated a novel, straight-forward and economical procedure for the total synthesis of (-)-codonopsinine 1, (-)-codonopsine 2 and codonopsinine analogues 13c-g from simple and commercially available starting materials; d-tartaric acid; with antimicrobial activities against Gram positive and Gram-negative organisms that were improved by SLNs formulations.

Corrected Structure of Natural Hyacinthacine C1 via Total Synthesis

Hyacinthacines C₁ and C₄ are natural products that were isolated from Hyacinthoides non-scripta and Scilla socialis in 1999 and 2007, respectively. Despite their different ¹H NMR and ¹³C NMR spectroscopic data, these compounds have been assigned the same structures, including absolute configurations. This work details the total synthesis of natural (+)-hyacinthacine C₁, whose structure is confirmed as being the C-6 epimer of that reported. The synthetic strategy focused on inverting the configuration at C-1 of the final hyacinthacines via operating the inversion at the corresponding carbon atom in three previously synthesized intermediates. To do this, the advanced intermediates were subjected to Swern oxidation, followed by a stereoselective reduction with L-Selectride. This approach led to the synthesis of (+)-5 -epi-hyacinthacine C₁ (15), the corrected structure for (+)-hyacinthacine C₁ (19), (+)-6,7-di- epi-hyacinthacine C₁ (23), and (+)-7- epi-hyacinthacine C₁ (29). Glycosidase inhibition assays revealed that (+)-hyacinthacine C₁ (19) proved the most active, with IC₅₀ values of 33.7, 55.5, and 78.2 μM, against the α-glucosidase of rice, human lysosome, and rat intestinal maltase, respectively.

Metal-mediated synthesis of pyrrolines

The five-membered, nitrogen-containing pyrroline ring is a privileged structure. This ring is present in many bioactive compounds from natural sources. Pyrrolines-the dihydro derivatives of pyrroles-have three structural isomer classes, depending on the location of the double bond: 1-pyrrolines (3,4-dihydro-2H-pyrroles), 2-pyrrolines (2,3-dihydro-1H-pyrroles) and 3-pyrrolines (2,5-dihydro-1H-pyrroles). This review aims to describe the latest advances for the synthesis of pyrrolines by transition metal-catalyzed cyclizations. Only reactions in which the pyrroline ring is formed by metal promotion are described. Transformations of the pyrroline ring in other heterocycles, and the structural manipulations of the pyrroline itself are not discussed. The review is organized into three parts, each covering the metal-mediated synthesis of the three pyrroline isomers. Each part is subdivided according to the metal involved, and concludes with a brief description of notable biological activities within the class.

Total Synthesis of Natural Hyacinthacine C5 and Six Related Hyacinthacine C5 Epimers

The total synthesis of natural (+)-hyacinthacine C₅ was achieved, which allowed correction of its initially proposed structure, as well as six additional hyacinthacine C-type compounds. These compounds were readily accessible from two epimeric anti-1,2-amino alcohols. Keeping a common A-ring configuration, chemical manipulation occurred selectively on the B-ring of the hyacinthacine C-type products through methods of syn-dihydroxylation, S_N2 ring-opening of a cyclic sulfate, and also employing either ( R)- or ( R, S)-α-methylallyl amine for the Petasis borono Mannich reaction. Our small analogue library was then assessed for its glycosidase inhibitory potency against a panel of glycosidases. (-)-6- Epi-hyacinthacine C₅ and (+)-7- epi-hyacinthacine C₅ (compound names are based on the corrected structure of hyacinthacine C₅) proved most active, with inhibitory activities ranging between weak (IC₅₀ = 130 μM) and moderate (IC₅₀ = 9.9 μM) against the α-glucosidases of rat intestinal maltase, isomaltase, and sucrase, thus identifying potential new leads for future antidiabetic drug development.

Synthesis of functionalized 2,5-dihydropyrrole derivatives via a convenient [3 + 2] annulation of azomethine ylides with allenoates

A convenient [3 + 2] annulation of azomethine ylides with allenoates to synthesize highly functionalized 2,5-dihydropyrrole derivatives was developed.

Synthesis of tetracyclic iminosugars fused benzo[e][1,3]thiazin-4-one and their HIV-RT inhibitory activity

Several aza-C-pseudonucleosides bearing 1,3-benzothiazin-4-one (6 and 7) were prepared by the one-pot three-component condensation from the iminosugar aldehyde 3, amino acid ethyl/methyl ester hydrochlorides 4(a-c), and 2-mercaptobenzoic acid 5. After removal of Boc and the isopropylidene groups, the target novel tetracyclic iminosugars fused benzo[e][1,3]thiazin-4-one 1(a-c) and 2(a-b) were first afforded by the intramolecular cyclo-amidation reaction. Their structures were determined by their (1)H, (13)C NMR, and HRMS (ESI) spectra and X-ray. The tetracyclic iminosugars 1(a-c) and 2(a-b) were examined for their HIV reverse transcriptase (RT) inhibitory activities. The result showed that all compounds could effectively inhibit RT activity. Among them, compound 2a was the best one with the IC50 value of RT inhibitory activity of 0.82μM. Structure-activity relationship analysis suggested that 1'R configuration in the tetracyclic azasugars was of benefit to their anti-HIV RT activity.

A common and versatile synthetic route to (-) and (+) pentenomycin I, (+) halopentenomycin I and dehydropentenomycin

A versatile and stereoselective total synthesis of (+) and (-) pentenomycin I, (+) halopentenomycins I and dehydropentenomycin from a common chiral polyhydroxylated cyclopentene through oxidation and protection/deprotection has been described. Stereoselective hydroxymethylation, stereoselective Grignard reaction and ring closing metathesis are the key features of our approach.

Simple Indolizidine and Quinolizidine Alkaloids

This review of simple indolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids (i.e., those in which the parent bicyclic systems are in general not embedded in polycyclic arrays) is an update of the previous coverage in Volume 55 of this series (2001). The present survey covers the literature from mid-1999 to the end of 2013; and in addition to aspects of the isolation, characterization, and biological activity of the alkaloids, much emphasis is placed on their total synthesis. A brief introduction to the topic is followed by an overview of relevant alkaloids from fungal and microbial sources, among them slaframine, cyclizidine, Steptomyces metabolites, and the pantocins. The important iminosugar alkaloids lentiginosine, steviamine, swainsonine, castanospermine, and related hydroxyindolizidines are dealt with in the subsequent section. The fourth and fifth sections cover metabolites from terrestrial plants. Pertinent plant alkaloids bearing alkyl, functionalized alkyl or alkenyl substituents include dendroprimine, anibamine, simple alkaloids belonging to the genera Prosopis, Elaeocarpus, Lycopodium, and Poranthera, and bicyclic alkaloids of the lupin family. Plant alkaloids bearing aryl or heteroaryl substituents include ipalbidine and analogs, secophenanthroindolizidine and secophenanthroquinolizidine alkaloids (among them septicine, julandine, and analogs), ficuseptine, lasubines, and other simple quinolizidines of the Lythraceae, the simple furyl-substituted Nuphar alkaloids, and a mixed quinolizidine-quinazoline alkaloid. The penultimate section of the review deals with the sizable group of simple indolizidine and quinolizidine alkaloids isolated from, or detected in, ants, mites, and terrestrial amphibians, and includes an overview of the "dietary hypothesis" for the origin of the amphibian metabolites. The final section surveys relevant alkaloids from marine sources, and includes clathryimines and analogs, stellettamides, the clavepictines and pictamine, and bis(quinolizidine) alkaloids.

Cu(OAc)2/FOXAP complex catalyzed construction of 2,5-dihydropyrrole derivatives via asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides to ethynyl ketones

Cu(OAc)₂/FOXAP catalyzed asymmetric 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of azomethine ylides to ethynyl ketones, affording 2,5-dihydropyrroles in good to excellent yields and excellent enantioselectivities.

Glycerol as an efficient medium for the petasis borono-mannich reaction

The multicomponent Petasis borono–Mannich (PBM) reaction is a useful tool for the preparation of complex molecules in a single step from boronic acids, aldehydes/ketones, and amines. Here, we describe the use of glycerol in the PBM reaction of salicylaldehydes or 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde with several boronic acids and secondary amines. From these readily available starting materials, alkylaminophenols, 2-substituted pyridines, and 2H-chromenes were prepared in reasonable to good yields. Glycerol was compared with other solvents, and in some cases, it provided the reaction product in higher yield. Crude glycerol, as generated by the biodiesel industry, was evaluated and found to be a suitable solvent for the PBM reaction, successfully expanding the potential use of this industry by-product. Based on density functional theory (DFT) calculations and the obtained experimental results, the involvement of glycerol-derived boronic esters in the reaction mechanism is suggested to be competitive with the free boronic acid pathway. Similar Gibbs free energies for the aryl migration from the boronate species to the iminium were determined for both mechanisms.

Pyrrolizidine alkaloids

This review covers pyrrolizidine alkaloids isolated from natural sources. Topics include: aspects of structure, isolation, and biological/pharmacological studies; total syntheses of necic acids, necine bases and closely-related non-natural analogues.

Catalytic asymmetric Petasis reactions of vinylboronates

Binaphthol-catalyzed asymmetric Petasis reactions of salicylaldehydes with dibutyl vinylboronates and secondary amines in the presence of 4 Å molecular sieves (MS) afforded products with up to 99% ee in isolated yields of 39-94%. The 99% ee of the product indicated that the reaction by the binaphthol-catalyzed pathway was roughly 500 times faster than the uncatalyzed pathway. NMR experiments ((1)H and (11)B) showed that the amine component played a role in triggering the reaction between the binaphthol catalyst and the vinylboronate in the catalytic reaction sequence. The 4 Å MS enhanced both the rate and enantioselectivity by effective removal of water from the reaction system. A novel rearrangement reaction of the unconjugated allylic amine Petasis reaction product to a conjugated allylic amine was also observed.