CAL-B-Catalyzed deacylation of benzylic acetates: Effect of amines addition. Comparison of several approaches

Herein, we report an efficient enantioselective cleavage of the acyl-moity of some secondary benzylic acetate derivatives catalyzed by lipase B from Candida antarctica (CAL-B) in the presence of triethylamine, as additive, in non aqueous media. The influence of the hydrophobicity of two solvent, the basicity of three amines and the amount of CAL-B were studied in the presence/absence of molecular sieves 4Å. The best results in term of selectivity are achieved using the triethylamine as basic additive and in that case, the reactivity is only best at low conversion. To establish the effect of the parallel and/or competitive hydrolysis and its impact on the reactivity and selectivity of the enzymatic resolution, the kinetic profiles of three CAL-B-deacylation approaches of phenylethylacetate have been compared, using different nucleophiles in competition with the internal water mediated by: Na₂CO₃, EtOH and by using the Et₃N as additive. Furthermore, a comparison between these deacylations with the acylation of 1-phenylethanol with isopropenylacetate, has been made. The appropriate modulation of some crucial parameters allows an optimal conversion and a high selectivity depending on the acetate structure and the introduced base. In the majority of cases, the (R)-alcohols are obtained with ee>99% and selectivities E>200 under mild conditions.

Biotransformation of rutabaga phytoalexins by the fungus Alternaria brassicicola: Unveiling the first hybrid metabolite derived from a phytoalexin and a fungal polyketide

The biotransformations of the rutabaga phytoalexins rutalexin, brassicanate A, isalexin and rapalexin A by the plant pathogenic fungus Alternaria brassicicola are reported. While the biotransformations of rutalexin, brassicanate A, and isalexin are fast, rapalexin A is resistant to fungal transformation. Unexpectedly, biotransformation of rutalexin yields a hybrid metabolite named rutapyrone, derived from rutalexin metabolism and phomapyrone G, a fungal metabolite produced by A. brassicicola. These fungal transformations are detoxification reactions likely carried out by different enzymes. The discovery of rapalexin A resistance to detoxification suggests that this phytoalexin in combination with additional phytoalexins could protect crucifers against this pathogen. Phytoalexins resistant to degradation by A. brassicicola are expected to provide the producing plants with higher disease resistance levels.