Total synthesis of pseudodehydrothyrsiferol

The Laurencia Paradox: An Endless Source of Chemodiversity

Nature, the most prolific source of biological and chemical diversity, has provided mankind with treatments for health problems since ancient times and continues to be the most promising reservoir of bioactive chemicals for the development of modern drugs. In addition to the terrestrial organisms that still remain a promising source of new bioactive metabolites, the marine environment, covering approximately 70% of the Earth's surface and containing a largely unexplored biodiversity, offers an enormous resource for the discovery of novel compounds. According to the MarinLit database, more than 27,000 metabolites from marine macro- and microorganisms have been isolated to date providing material and key structures for the development of new products in the pharmaceutical, food, cosmeceutical, chemical, and agrochemical sectors. Algae, which thrive in the euphotic zone, were among the first marine organisms that were investigated as sources of food, nutritional supplements, soil fertilizers, and bioactive metabolites.Red algae of the genus Laurencia are accepted unanimously as one of the richest sources of new secondary metabolites. Their cosmopolitan distribution, along with the chemical variation influenced to a significant degree by environmental and genetic factors, have resulted in an endless parade of metabolites, often featuring multiple halogenation sites.The present contribution, covering the literature until August 2015, offers a comprehensive view of the chemical wealth and the taxonomic problems currently impeding chemical and biological investigations of the genus Laurencia. Since mollusks feeding on Laurencia are, in many cases, bioaccumulating, and utilize algal metabolites as chemical weaponry against natural enemies, metabolites of postulated dietary origin of sea hares that feed on Laurencia species are also included in the present review. Altogether, 1047 secondary metabolites, often featuring new carbocyclic skeletons, have been included.The chapter addresses: (1) the "Laurencia complex", the botanical description and the growth and population dynamics of the genus, as well as its chemical diversity and ecological relations; (2) the secondary metabolites, which are organized according to their chemical structures and are classified into sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, triterpenes, acetogenins, indoles, aromatic compounds, steroids, and miscellaneous compounds, as well as their sources of isolation which are depicted in tabulated form, and (3) the biological activity organized according to the biological target and the ecological functions of Laurencia metabolites.

Plant-derived juvenile hormone III analogues and other sesquiterpenes from the stem bark of Cananga latifolia

Juvenile hormone III (JH III) is a larval metamorphosis-regulating hormone present in most insect species. JH III was first isolated from the plant, Cyperus iria L., but the presence of JH III has not been reported in other plant species. In the present study, proof of the existence of JH III and its analogues from Cananga latifolia was established. From an aqueous MeOH extract of C. latifolia stem bark, six compounds were isolated along with nine known compounds. These were identified by using spectroscopic analyses as: (2E,6E,10R)-11-butoxy-10-hydroxy-3,7,11-trimethyldodeca-2,6-dienoic acid methyl ester, (2E,6E)-3,7,11-trimethyl-10-oxododeca-2,6-dienoic acid methyl ester, (2E)-3-methyl-5-[(1S,2R,6R)-1,2,6-trimethyl-3-oxocyclohexyl]-pent-2-enoic acid methyl ester, 1β-hydroxy-3-oxo-4β, 5α,7α-H-eudesmane 11-O-α-l-rhamnopyranoside, 4-epi-aubergenone 11-O-2',3'-di-O-acetyl-α-l-rhamnopyranoside and 4-epi-aubergenone 11-O-2',4'-di-O-acetyl-α-l-rhamnopyranoside. Three of the previously known compounds, (2E,6E,10R)-10-hydroxy-3,7,11-trimethyldodeca-2,6,11-trienoaic acid methyl ester, (2E,6E,10R)-10,11-dihydroxy-3,7,11-trimethyldodeca-2,6-dienoic acid and (2E,6S)-3-methyl-6-hydroxy-6-[(2R,5R)-5-(2-hydroxypropan-2-yl)-2-methyltetrahydrofuran-2-yl]-hex-2-enoaic acid methyl ester have now been found in a plant species. Ultra performance liquid chromatography-quadruple time-of-flight mass spectroscopy (UPLC-QTOF/MS) analysis of the chemical constituents of C. latifolia showed that several were predominant in the sub-fractions of a C. latifolia stem bark extract.

Thyrsiferol Inhibits Mitochondrial Respiration and HIF-1 Activation

The cytotoxic marine red algal metabolite thyrsiferol (1) was found to inhibit hypoxia-induced hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1) activation in T47D human breast tumor cells (66% inhibition at 3 μM). Compound 1 also suppressed hypoxic induction of HIF-1 target genes (VEGF, GLUT-1) at the mRNA level, and displayed tumor cell line-selective time-dependent inhibition of cell viability/proliferation. Mechanistic studies revealed that 1 selectively suppressed mitochondrial respiration at Complex I (IC(50) 3 μM). Thyrsiferol represents a prototypical, structurally unique electron transport chain inhibitor. The apparent rotenone-like activity may contribute to the observed cytotoxicity of 1 and play an important role in Laurencia chemical defense.