Alkaloids, biosynthesis from amino acids

Of the four major classes of biochemicals (carbohydrates, proteins, nucleic acids and lipids), experiments have shown that the first three classes could have arisen through prebiotic chemistry. Although the biosynthesis of many natural products can be traced back to acetate (e.g. fatty acids, terpenes and polyketide biosynthesis) or amino acids (e.g. alkaloid biosynthesis), there are many whose biosynthetic origins are either obscure or result from a complex combination of pathways (Fig. 2). 

The biosynthesis of alkaloids has been extensively studied, and although for a time it was thought that alkaloids arose primarily from amino acid precursors, strong evidence now is available that ethanoate also is involved. The mode of alkaloid biosynthesis is not yet as well understood as that of the terpenes and steroids. One experimental problem is the difficulty of feeding suitably labeled precursors to plants. 

Biosynthesis In contrast to steroids and terpenes, there is no equivalent to the isoprene rule for alkaloids as a useful aid for structure determination and biogenetic investigations. It is generally accepted today that A. are formed in cyclization, condensation, and dimerization reactions from amino acids and biogenic amines with biogenic aldehydes and ketones. 

The biosynthesis of alkaloids from amino acids with aliphatic nitrogen requires the formation of heterocyclic rings, which is accompanied by the synthesis of new C—N—bonds. Intramolecular as well as intermolecular reactions may be involved. Most important are the following ... 

Tropane alkaloids comprise a large group of bases occurring predominantly in the family of the Solanaceae. Structurally they are esters of carboxylic acids with tropine (3-hydroxy-8-aza-8-methyl-[3.2.1]-bicyclooctane) and are biosynthetically derived from amino acid and acetate precursors. Despite the relative structural simplicity of the alkaloids, their biosynthesis is not well understood from a mechanistic point of view. In this article the available information pertaining to this question is summarized and discussed in context with the information that is available from the analogous pelletierine class of alkaloids. A new proposal for the mechanism of assembly of the acetate derived C, fragment of these alkaloids is introduced. 

Precursor in the biosynthesis of tropane alkaloids is the amino acid L-omithine (1) [5-8]. It was found that ornithine undergoes enzymatic decarboxylation to putrescine (2) which then is methylated to A-methylputrescine (3) [9-12]. The oxidation of iV-methylputrescine (3) leads to 4-methylaminobutanal (4) that is further converted in the M-methyl-A -pyrrolinium cation (5). From the last compound, the four carbon atoms C-1, C-5, C-6, and C-7 and A-methyl group in tropane skeleton are originated [9, 13, 14] (Scheme 12.1). 

Alkaloids, like terpenoids, are a large and diverse class of compounds, with more than 12,000 examples known at present. They contain a basic amine group in tbeir structure and are derived biosyntbetically from amino acids. WeTl look at morphine biosynthesis as an example in Section 25.3. 

Biogenic amines are a group of aliphatic, aromatic or heterocychc bases derived from amino acids, which exhibit a variety of biological effects, as they perform different functions in animal and plant tissues. Some biogenic amines are building materials for the biosynthesis of phytohormones of the auxin group, plant protoalkaloids (such as hordenine and gramine), true alkaloids and other secondary plant metabolites. In animal tissues they have the function of tissue hormones (e.g. histamine) and are precursors of adrenal hormones (catecholamines). 

As far as the biosynthesis is concerned Winterstein and Trier pointed out in 1931 that, according to their structure, alkaloids must be derivatives of amino acids. Thus, an amino group supplies the N of the alkaloids. Today no one doubts the correctness of this statement. Indeed, their biogenesis from amino acids is that which allows the heterogeneous collection of alkaloids to be considered as a group. That does not exclude the possibility that sometimes building blocks other than amino acids, in particular isopentenyl pyrophosphate, can be drawn upon for the biosynthesis of alkaloids. 

Although L-phenylalanine is a protein amino acid, and is known as a protein acid type of alkaloid precursor, its real role in biosynthesis (providing C and N atoms) only relates to carbon atoms. L-phenylalanine is a part of magic 20 (a term deployed by Crick in his discussion of the genetic code) and just for this reason should also be listed as a protein amino acid type of alkaloid precursor, although its duty in alkaloid synthesis is not the same as other protein amino acids. However, in relation to magic 20 it is necessary to observe that only part of these amino acids are well-known alkaloid precursors. They are formed from only two amino acid families Histidine and Aromatic and the Aspartate family . 

Although the participation of amino acids in the biosynthesis of some shikimate metabolites and particularly in the pathways leading to alkaloids has already been explored in Chapters 4 and 6, amino acids are also the building blocks for other important classes of natural products. The elaboration of shikimate metabolites and alkaloids utilized only a limited range of amino acid precursors. Peptides, proteins, and the other compounds considered in this chapter are synthesized from a very much wider range of amino acids. Peptides and proteins represent another grey area between primary metabolism and secondary metabolism, in that some materials are widely distributed in nature and found, with subtle variations, in many different organisms, whilst others are of very restricted occurrence. 

Biosynthesis of Polyketides Phenolic Compounds derived from Shikimate. The Biosynthesis of CB - Cjg Terpenoid Compounds Trrterpenoids Steroids, and Carotenoids Non-protein Amino-acids, Cyanogenic Glycosides, and Glucosinolates Biosynihesis of Alkaloids. 

Cephalotaxus Alkaloids.—Preliminary results indicate that the homo-Erythrina alkaloid schelhammeridine (52) derives from phenylalanine and tyrosine by way of a phenethylisoquinoline precursor [as (53)].52 Previous evidence for the biosynthesis of the related alkaloid cephalotaxine (54), obtained with tyrosine labelled in the side-chain, has indicated a different pathway which involves two molecules of this amino-acid.53 Recently, however, tyrosine labelled in the aromatic ring was examined as a cephalotaxine precursor and was found54 to label ring A of (54) almost exclusively, i.e. only one unit of tyrosine is used for biosynthesis. This is obviously inconsistent with the previous evidence and the early incorporations are... 

The enzyme, i.e. lysine decarboxylase, that is required for the conversion of lysine into cadaverine, and thus the first step of alkaloid biosynthesis, has been isolated from chloroplasts of L. polyphyllus,28 Like the majority of amino-acid decarboxylases, this enzyme is dependent on pyridoxal 5 phosphate. Its activity was found not to be affected by the presence or absence of quinolizidine alkaloids. Control of the enzyme by simple product feedback inhibition therefore seems unlikely. The operational parameters of this enzyme resemble those of the 17-oxosparteine synthase. Co-operation between the two enzymes would explain why cadaverine is almost undetectable in vivo. 

The mode of biosynthesis of none of these alkaloids is known but, in the case of the iboga group, some guesses have been made (39, 63, 64), all of which start from the amino acids, tryptophan and dihydroxy-phenylalanine, and involve a fission of the latter s aromatic ring. A more sophisticated approach (65), starting from precursors of the aromatic amino acids, namely shikimic and prephenic acids, is apparently not in agreement with recent work on other indole alkaloids (66). The genesis of most indole alkaloids appears to stem from tryptophan and three... 

Oxaline (143) was isolated in 1974 by Nagel et al. (183,184) from cultures of the toxicogenic fungus Penicillium oxalicum. The compound may be classified as an indole alkaloid, but it is one of the three indole alkaloids known at present that also contains an imidazole substituent the other indole alkaloids being roquefortine (144) and neoxaline (145). The structure of oxaline was deduced from physicochemical data and confirmed by single-crystal X-ray analysis. It has been suggested that in the biosynthesis of oxaline, nature makes use of the amino acids tryptophan and histidine (184). 

Some of the most interesting applications of organic structural theory to the elucidation of biosynthetic pathways were stimulated by efforts to formulate mechanisms for the biosynthesis of alkaloids. Conversely, consideration of implied biogenetic relations have occasionally helped structural determination. An important aspect of theories concerning alkaloid biosynthesis has been the assumed role of the aromatic amino acids in their formation. Only limited experimental evidence is available in this area. The incorporation of tyrosine- 8-C into morphine has been shown to be in accordance with a theory for its formation from 3,4-dihydroxyphenyl-alanine plus 3,4-dihydroxyphenylacetaldehyde. A stimulating theory of the biosynthesis of indole alkaloids, based on a condensation between trypt-amine and a rearrangement product of prephenic acid, has recently been published. The unique stereochemistry of C15 of these alkaloids had an important part in the formulation of the theory. Experimental proof of this theory would be valuable for several areas of alkaloid chemistry and biosynthesis. 

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