Apparicine-type alkaloids

Tabernaemontana divaricata (double flower variety) provided an unusual minor alkaloid, voaharine (178), whose structure was established by X-ray analysis [137]. Voaharine is exceptional in being in all probability a tryptamine and jccologanine derived alkaloid but possessing a 3-quinolone instead of an indole chromophore. Voaharine is probably derived from voaphylline (180) (which is also present in the plant) via oxidation and rearrangement and represents the first instance of a 3-quinolone-type alkaloid obtained from Tabernaemontana. Besides these, and the known alkaloids N-methylvoaphylline (181), pachysiphine (tabersonine-P-epoxide) and apparicine, as well as two new bisindoles (vide infra), the plant also provided several new alkaloids of the aspidosperma-type including (-)-mehranine (179), voafinine (182), N-methylvoafinine (183), voafinidine (184) and voalenine (185) which were obtained in minute amounts [138-140]. 

As the azocinoindole 40 constitutes the tricyclic substructure of the indole alkaloid apparicine , we attempted to improve the cyclization yield. Satisfactorily, the regioselectivity was completely switched to the 8-endo mode when the alkene acceptor was substituted at the internal position by a bromine atom. Thus, cyclization of selenoester 43 led to the desired target 40 as the only reaction product in 75% yield. Clearly, the bromine atom not only sterically prevented the competitive 1-exo attack, but also benefited the cyclization by activation of the double bond. It should be noted that similar halogen-controlled 8-endo cyclizations are known in the literature, but involving amidyl-type radicals <06OL2647>. 

Information on derivatives of the alkaloidal types considered so far is as follows (o) there is good evidence that the biosynthesis of strychnine (51) in Strychnos nux vomica plants follows the terpenoid pathway and it is proved that carbons x and y of (51) are derived from acetate the Wieland-Gumlich aldehyde (52) is not incorporated into strychnine by these plants b) apparicine... 

Pawelka and Stockigt (5S5) identified eight different indole alkaloids from cell suspension cultures of O. elliptica. The pattern of the alkaloids found was quite different from the above-mentioned results reported by Kuoadio and co-workers (779). The alkaloids identified were tetrahydroal-stonine, cathenamine, pleiocarpamine and two other methoxy-substituted heteroyohimbine alkaloids Corynanthe/heteroyohimbine type), norfluo-rocurarine Strychnos type), and apparicine and epchrosine Aspi-dosperma type). The last mentioned alkaloid was a new compound (729) not known from intact plants. 

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