Synthesis and biosynthesis of isocordoin

Hemi-Synthesis and Anti-Oomycete Activity of Analogues of Isocordoin

An efficient synthesis of a series of 4′-oxyalkyl-isocordoin analogues (2–8) is reported for the first time. Their structures were confirmed by ¹H-NMR, ¹³C-NMR, and HRMS. Their anti-oomycete activity was evaluated by mycelium and spores inhibition assay against two selected pathogenic oomycetes strains: Saprolegnia parasitica and Saprolegnia australis. The entire series of isocordoin derivatives (except compound 7) showed high inhibitory activity against these oomycete strains. Among them, compound 2 exhibited strong activity, with minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) and minimum oomyceticidal concentration (MOC) values of 50 µg/mL and 75 µg/mL, respectively. The results showed that 4′-oxyalkylated analogues of isocordoin could be potential anti-oomycete agents.

Molecular characterization and phylogenetic analysis of two novel regio-specific flavonoid prenyltransferases from Morus alba and Cudrania tricuspidata

Prenylated flavonoids are attractive specialized metabolites with a wide range of biological activities and are distributed in several plant families. The prenylation catalyzed by prenyltransferases represents a Friedel-Crafts alkylation of the flavonoid skeleton in the biosynthesis of natural prenylated flavonoids and contributes to the structural diversity and biological activities of these compounds. To date, all identified plant flavonoid prenyltransferases (FPTs) have been identified in Leguminosae. In the present study two new FPTs, Morus alba isoliquiritigenin 3'-dimethylallyltransferase (MaIDT) and Cudrania tricuspidata isoliquiritigenin 3'-dimethylallyltransferase (CtIDT), were identified from moraceous plants M. alba and C. tricuspidata, respectively. MaIDT and CtIDT shared low levels of homology with the leguminous FPTs. MaIDT and CtIDT are predicted to be membrane-bound proteins with predicted transit peptides, seven transmembrane regions, and conserved functional domains that are similar to other homogentisate prenyltransferases. Recombinant MaIDT and CtIDT were able to regioselectively introduce dimethylallyl diphosphate into the A ring of three flavonoids with different skeleton types (chalcones, isoflavones, and flavones). Phylogenetic analysis revealed that MaIDT and CtIDT are distantly related to their homologs in Leguminosae, which suggests that FPTs in Moraceae and Leguminosae might have evolved independently. MaIDT and CtIDT represent the first two non-Leguminosae FPTs to be identified in plants and could thus lead to the identification of additional evolutionarily varied FPTs in other non-Leguminosae plants and could elucidate the biosyntheses of prenylated flavonoids in various plants. Furthermore, MaIDT and CtIDT might be used for regiospecific prenylation of flavonoids to produce bioactive compounds for potential therapeutic applications due to their high efficiency and catalytic promiscuity.

Chemical constituents of Glycosmis arborea: three new carbazole alkaloids and their biological activity

As part of the phytochemical studies of the plant genus Glycosmis, the constituents of the plant Glycosmis arborea were investigated. Three new carbazole alkaloids named glybomines A (1), B (2), and C (3), along with known monomeric alkaloids belonging to the carbazole, quinazoline, furoquinoline, quinolone, and acridone classes, were isolated from stems of the plant collected at Mymensing in Dhaka, Bangladesh. Glybomine A (1) is the first example of a 2,5-oxygenated carbazole alkaloid from natural sources. As a primary screening test for anti-tumor promoters, nine alkaloids isolated from this plant have been tested for their inhibitory effects on Epstein-Barr virus early antigen (EBV-EA) induction by the tumor promoter 12-O-tetradecanoylphorbol-13-acetate (TPA). All alkaloids tested showed inhibitory activity.

Chalcone dimethylallyltransferase fromMorus nigracell cultures. Substrate specificity studies

A new prenyltransferase (PT) enzyme derived from the microsomal fractions of cell cultures of Morus nigra was shown to be able to prenylate exclusively chalcones with a 2',4'-dihydroxy substitution and the isoflavone genistein. Computational studies were performed to shed some light on the relationship between the structure of the substrate and the enzymatic activity. PT requires divalent cations, particularly Mg(2+), to be effective. The apparent K(m) values for gamma,gamma-dimethylallyldiphosphate and 2',4'-dihydroxychalcone were 63 and 142 microM, respectively. The maximum activity of the enzyme was expressed during the first 10 days of cell growth.

Palladium-catalyzed arylation of ketone enolates: an expeditious entry to tamoxifen-related 1,2,2-triarylethanones

[reaction: see text]. After a rigorous study on the effect of several catalytic systems, a simple, high yielding procedure for the preparation of 1,2,2-triarylethanones, skeletal analogues of tamoxifen, is presented. Apart from the economic and environmental advantages involved, this palladium-catalyzed arylation of deoxybenzoin enolates features a lack of ortho-arylation side reactions. In addition, an alternative approach from acetophenones to the target triarylethanone system is also announced.