Phytochemicals polyacetylenes

The National Cancer Institute, through its Experimental Food Program (3), has identified many phytochemicals that can interfere with and potentially block the biochemical pathways that lead to malignancy in animals. These phytochemicals fall into approximately 14 classes of substances that are present in common foods. They include sulfides, phytates, flavonoids, glucarates, carotenoids, coumarins, monoterpenes, triterpenes, lignans, phenolic acids, indoles, isothiocyanates, and polyacetylenes. 

PoPLAWSKi, J., J. T. Wrobel, and T. Glinka Panaxydol, a new Polyacetylenic Epoxide from Panax ginseng Roots. Phytochem. 19, 1539 (1980). 

A detailed interpretation of LC/ H-NMR in combination with LC/UV-DAD, LC/MS, and chemotax-onomical data (see the case of 3 in Figure 5) enables the identification of three known lignanes ( —)-phylligenin (3), ( —)-eudesmin (4), ( —)-epieudesmin (5) as well as polycerasoidol (6). Compound (7) could be completely identified based on online data and was finally characterized as a new polyacetylenic natural product named oropheic acid (7). This example also demonstrates the use of LC/UV LC/MS and LC/NMR in phytochemical analysis known natural products can be dereplicated by comparison... 

Lam, J. Polyacetylenes of Solidago virgaurea Their Seasonal Variation and NMR Longe-range Spin Coupling Constants. Phytochem. 10, 647 (1971). 

Hansen-Moller, J., Hansen, S.L., Christensen, L.P. et al (2002) Quantification of polyacetylenes by LC-MS in human plasma after intake of fresh carrot juice Daucus carota L.). In International Symposium on Dietary Phytochemicals and Human Health, Salamanca, Spain, 18-20 AprU 2002, pp. 203-204. 

Bu Lock, J. D. Biogenesis of natural polyacetylenes. Compt. Phytochem. 1966, 79. 

Pyrethrins. Although phytochemicals from a wide variety of chemical families (alkaloids, terpenes, furanocoumarins, polyacetylenes, unsaturated amides, and others) have been shown to possess insecticidal properties, only one group, the pyrethrins, has achieved major commercial success. The recognized insecticidal activity of pyrethrum (dried and powdered flowers of Tanacetum coccineum (Persian insect flower) and Tanacetum cinerari-... 

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