Mitomycins antitumor natural product

Mitomycin A, 1, is a natural product which shows potent antibiotic and antitumor activity, and has been the subject of extensive synthetic studies. French workers have described a simple procedure for one-pot preparation of the tricyclic skeleton of the mitomycins. Thus, simply mixing and stirring a solution of nitrosobenzene and (E,E)-hexa-2,4-dienal in absolute ethanol at... 

Mitomycin C is a natural product sometimes classified as an antitumor antibiotic (see Table 124—15). It has functional similarities to nitrogen mustard compounds and may function as an alkylating agent, although its toxicity pattern differs from conventional alkylators. 

Some natural products contain an aziridine ring, for example, mitomycins (14 mitomycin C). This is responsible for the cytostatic and antitumor activity of these antibiotics. Many synthetic aziridines have been screened for their antitumor activity. Some are used in medical treatment, especially as antileukemic agents, for example, 15 and 16. 

---