Neuroexcitotoxic amino acid

Sasaki, M, Koike, T, Sakai, R, Tachibana, K, Total synthesis of (—)-dysiherbaine, a novel neuroexcitotoxic amino acid. Tetrahedron Lett., 41, 3923-3926, 2000. 

A novel neuroexcitotoxic amino acid, (-)-dysiherbaine, was synthesized starting from a carbohydrate precursor in the laboratory of M. Sasaki.Under benzylation conditions, the cyclic 2,3-epoxy alcohol underwent a facile Payne rearrangement and the rearranged alkoxide was trapped with benzyl bromide. 

Plaitakis, A, Constantakakis, E. and Smith, J. (1988) The neuroexcitotoxic amino acids glutamate and aspartate are altered in spinal cords and brain in amyotrophic lateral sclerosis. Ann. Neurol. 24 446-449. 

Dysiherbaine 187 and neodysiherbaine A 190 are novel neuroexcitotoxic, naturally occurring excitatory amino acids with selective and potent neuroexcitatory and agonistic activity for ionotropic glutamate receptors. ... 

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