Natural naphthoquinone

Table 1. Selected members of the natural naphthoquinones related to lapachol.

The most representative data of the UV and IR of selected natural naphthoquinones spectra are shown in Table 2. 

Other natural naphthoquinones, such as menadione, 1,4-naphthoquinone, 3-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone and 2,3-dimethoxy-l,4-naphthoquinone... 

Tikkanen, L., T. Matsushima, S. Natoii, and K. Yoshihira. 1983. Mutagenicity of natural naphthoquinones and benzoquinones in the Salmonella/microsome test. Mutat. Res. 124(l) 25-34. 

Shikonin is a natural naphthoquinone compound and inhibits adipogenesis through the activation of the Wnt/P-catenin pathway. Shikonin induces the upregulation and nuclear translocation of p-catenin. 

TABLE III. MORTALITY OF C.formosanus ON NATURAL NAPHTHOQUINONES TREATED FILTER... 

Several substances having vitamin K. activity have been isolated from natural sources. Vitamin Ki from alfalfa oil, is 2-methyl-3-phytyl-1,4-naphthoquinone. 

The term vitamin K2 was applied to 2-methyl-3-difarnesyl-l,4-naphthoquinone, m.p. 54 C, isolated from putrefied fish meal. It now includes a group of related natural compounds ( menaquinones ), differing in the number of isoprene units in the side chain and in their degree of unsaturation. These quinones also appear to be involved in the electron transport chain and oxidative phosphorylation. 

Quinones of various degrees of complexity have antibiotic, antimicrobial, and anticancer activities, eg, a2iddinornitosene [80954-63-8] (36), (-)-2-methyl-l,4-naphthoquinone 2,3-epoxide [61840-91 -3] (37), and doxombicin [23214-92-8] (adriamycin) (38) (see Antibiotics Chemotherapeutics, anticancer), ah of these natural and synthetic materials have stimulated extensive research in synthetic chemistry. 

Sequential applications of these methods yield naturally occurring anthraquinones, eg, macrosporin [22225-67-8] (86) in 83% yield from 2-chloro-6-methyl-7-hydroxy-l,4-naphthoquinone [76665-67-3] (87), which is produced in 78% yield from (26) (84). 

Although naphthoquinones represent the largest group of naturally occurring quinones, only a small number of these achieved importance as dyestuffs. 

Nanaomycin A 103 and deoxyfrenolicin 108 are members of a group of naphthoquinone antibiotics based on the isochroman skeleton. The therapeutic potential of these natural products has attracted considerable attention, and different approaches towards their synthesis have been reported [65,66]. The key step in the total synthesis of racemic nanaomycin A 103 is the chemo-and regioselective benzannulation reaction of carbene complex 101 and allylacety-lene 100 to give allyl-substituted naphthoquinone 102 after oxidative workup in 52% yield [65] (Scheme 47). The allyl functionality is crucial for a subsequent intramolecular alkoxycarbonylation to build up the isochroman structure. However, modest yields and the long sequence required to introduce the... 

Anwar, M., T. H. Khan, J. Prebble, and R F. Zagalsky. 1977. Membrane-bound carotenoid in Micrococcus luteus protects naphthoquinone from photodynamic action. Nature 270 538-540. 

Compounds showing vitamin K activity are substituted naphthoquinones. The parent compound, 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone, does show some biological activity as do other similar but synthetic compounds. The production of the complete naturally active forms is thought to depend upon the addition of an isoprene chain at position 3 on the aromatic ring. Differences in this side chain produce the various K vitamins (Figure 12.10). A most important physiological role of vitamin K is in the synthesis of the blood clotting factors, II (prothrombin), VII, IX and X. 

Photolytic. Based on data for phenol, a structurally related compound, an aqueous solution containing 1-naphthoxide ion (3 x 10 M) in room light would be expected to photooxidize to give 2-hydroxy-1,4-naphthoquinone (Tomkiewicz et al., 1971). 1-Naphthol, methyl isocyanate, and other unidentified cholinesterase inhibitors were reported as products formed from the direct photolysis of carbaryl by sunlight (Wolfe et al., 1976). In an aqueous solution at 25 °C, the photolysis half-life of carbaryl by natural sunlight or UV light (X = 313 nm) is 6.6 d (Wolfe et al, 1978a). 

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