Sesquiterpenes formation

Dudareva, N., Andersson, S., Orlova, 1., Gatto, N., Reichelt, M., D, Rhodes, et al. 2005. The nonmevalonate pathway supports both monoterpene and sesquiterpene formation in snapdragon flowers . Proc 74af/Acorf Xci USA. 702(3) 933-8. 

The nonmevalonate pathway supports both monoterpene and sesquiterpene formation in snapdragon flowers. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 102 933-938... 

Shemdal considers the formation of a crystalline picrate, melting at 122°, the best method of identifying azulene. On reduction azulene yields a dihydro-sesquiterpene, and in Sherndal s opinion, it is... 

Despite the favorable thermodynamics associated with the cyclization of unsaturated organolithiums, the isomerization is often sluggish when the ring closure involves generation of a quaternary center or formation of a strained framework. In such cases it has been found that addition of lithiophilic Lewis bases such as THF or TMEDA facilitate the reaction.7 9 The preparation of cuparene, a sterically congested sesquiterpene possessing two adjacent quaternary centers, illustrates the methodology.11... 

Longifolene is a tricyclic sesquiterpene. It is a typical terpene hydrocarbon in terms of the structural complexity. The synthetic challenge lies in construction of the bicyclic ring system. Schemes 13.24 through 13.33 describe nine separate syntheses of longifolene. We wish to particularly emphasize the methods for carbon-carbon bond formation used in these syntheses. There are four stereogenic centers in longifolene,... 

A domino process based on the twofold addition of alkenyl anions to a squarate ester was used by Paquette and coworkers [96] for the total synthesis of the triqui-nane sesquiterpene hypnophilin (4-284). The three-component reaction of 4-281,4-282 and vinyl lithium gave primarily the trans- and cis-adducts A and B, which furnished D either by an electrocyclic ring opening/ring closure via C or a dianionic oxy-Cope rearrangement (Scheme 4.60). Further transformations led to E and F, which resulted in the formation of 4-283 on treatment with acid. 

Endoperoxides of carbocyclic 1,3-dienes are most often transformed into either 1,4-diols, 1,3-diepoxides or 1,4-hydroxyenones. The 1,4-diol formation is illustrated in the synthesis of the sesquiterpene ( )-cybullol (6.8)614). 

Alternatively the allylic hydroperoxide can undergo the so called Hock-type fragmentation621 under acid-catalyzed hydrolysis with formation of two carbonyl compounds (or moieties). The sesquiterpene (—)-geijerone has been obtained from the triene (+)-y-elemene by such a sequence (6.15) 622>. 

The biosynthesis of monoterpenes, the major components of peppermint essential oils, can be divided into four stages (Fig. 9.4). Stage 1 includes the formation of isopentenyl diphosphate (IPP) and dimethylallyl alcohol (DMAPP). In plants, two separate pathways are utilized for the synthesis of these universal C5 intermediates, with the cytosolic mevalonate pathway being responsible for the formation of sterols and certain sesquiterpenes, and the plastidial mevalonate-independent pathway being involved in the biosynthesis of isoprene, monoterpenes, certain sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, tetraterpenes, as well as the side chains of chlorophyll and plastoquinone.16 In peppermint oil gland secretory cells, however, the mevalonate pathway is blocked and the biosynthesis of monoterpenoid essential... 

A quite detailed review of transannular cyclizations was published201 wherein their important role in biomimetic syntheses of sesquiterpenes as well as explanation of the biogenetic formation of the polycyclic natural compounds from their monocyclic precursors is discussed. The great significance of these transformations for the synthesis of natural products is also emphasized in a series of reviews which describe the cyclizations to form terpene derivatives, e.g., of the germacrane and humulene systems202-206. 

Schnee C, Koellner TG, Held M, Turlings TCJ, Gershenzon J, Degenhardt J (2006) The products of a single maize sesquiterpene synthase form a volatile defense signal that attracts natural enemies of maize herbivores. Proc Natl Acad Sci USA 103 1129-1134 Pichersky E, Gershenzon J (2002) The formation and function of plant volatUes perfumes for pollinator attraction and defense. Curr Opin Plant Biol 5 237-243... 

Schnee C, Kollner TG, Gershenzon J, Degenhardt J (2002) The maize gene terpene synthase 1 encodes a sesquiterpene synthase catalyzing the formation of ( )-P-farnesene, ( )-nerolidol, and ( , )-famesol iter herbivore damage. Plant Physiol 130 2049-2060... 

The compounds geranyl diphosphate, farnesyl diphosphate, and geranylgeranyl diphosphate are biochemical precursors of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes, and diterpenes respectively, and virtually all subsequent modifications of these precursors involve initial formation of an allylic cation through loss of diphosphate as the leaving group. 

Natural sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloid formation needs two precursors, one for the pyridinium moiety and another for the sesquiterpene moiety. The a for formation of the pyridinium moiety is nicotinic acid, which reacts with isoleucine and, by oxidative reaction, produces evoninic acid, wilfordic acid or edulinic acids, a for the sesquiterpene moiety is still open to question, but E, E-famesyl cation has been suggested as one possibility and hedycarylol as a second. This moiety is dihydroagarofuran. Therefore, a for the sesquiterpene pyridine alkaloids is nicotinic acid and E, E-famesyl cation and, controversially, hedycaryol. The /3 is amacrocycling ring formation substance (two moieties), from which the alkaloid forms (Figure 62). 

In a novel total synthesis of the tricyclic sesquiterpene (—)-longifolene, an intramolecular diazoalkane cycloaddition to a cyclohexadienone ring followed by thermal ring contraction of the resulting pyrazoline gave the tricychc vinylcyclo-propane 261 and this constitutes the key steps in this synthesis (314) (Scheme 8.63). The interesting features of this sequence are the separation of dipole and dipolarophile by five atoms and the formation of a seven-membered ring in the cycloaddition step. 

In a more constrained system 2, cyclobutanol formation can also be more efficient15. Note that in Ihis case, it is also highly diastereosclcctive. This photocyclization is a key step in the total synthesis of the sesquiterpene antibiotic (—)-punctatin. 

Head-to-tail rearrangement of four isoprene units results in the formation of diterpenes (C20H32), as seen also in Fig. 4.2. Diterpenes are generally found in resins, e.g. pimaric acid and abietic acid. Some diterpenoids are also constituents of essential oils, e.g. phytol [3, 7-14, 37, 52, 53]. Like sesquiterpenes, diterpenes are heavier than monoterpenes therefore, they require more energy to go to the vapour phase. For this reason, longer distillation times are necessary for their recovery. The DNP lists 118 different structural types for diterpenoids [37]. Important diterpenes found in essential oils will be detailed. Some representatives of volatile diterpenes are as in Structure 4.32. 

Much attention has been paid to the last step of the formation of monoter-penes and sesquiterpenes, which is catalysed by terpenoid synthases. Over 30 complementary DNAs (cDNAs) encoding plant terpenoid synthases involved in the primary and secondary metabolism have been cloned, characterised, and the proteins heterologously expressed [6]. However, because geranyl diphosphate and farnesyl diphosphate are not readily available substrates, their biotransformation by terpenoid synthases is not economically viable. As a result, considerable effort has been put into engineering the total plant terpenoid biosynthetic pathway in recombinant microorganisms. 

The construction of the tricyclo[5.2.0.02,6]nonane (26, n = 1) and tricyclo[6.2.0.02,7]decane (26, n = 2) frameworks involved the [2 4- 2] cycloaddition of readily accessible31,32 l,2-bis(trimethyl-siloxy)cyclobutene and cnone 25, n = 1 or 2, respectively.33 The yields (75-80%) were good for adducts 26a, c, e, and g. Lower yields (40-50%) were observed for adducts 26b and 26f, while adduct 26d was only isolated in a trace amount. The most interesting and important reaction, related to the total synthesis of eudesmane sesquiterpenes, was the photochemical reaction of (-)-piperitone (25g) with l,2-bis(trimethylsiloxy)cyclobutene, which gave c/.v,(5wf/u W-2/j,7/i-dimethyl-4/ -isopropyl-l f ,8Jf -bis(triniethylsiloxy)tricyclo[6.2.0.0z 7]dec-3-one (26g) with the relative cis configuration of the methyl (R2) and isopropyl (R3) groups.33,34 Some of the other photochemical [2 + 2] cycloaddition reactions utilizing l,2-bis(trimethyl-siloxy)cyclobutene are shown by the formation of 2735,36 and 28.37... 

Gershenzon, J. and Croteau, R. (1993). Terpenoid biosynthesis the basic pathway and formation of monoterpenes, sesquiterpenes and diterpenes. In Lipid Metabolism in Plants, ed. T. S. Moore Jr, pp. 339-388. Boca Raton, FL CRC Press. 

Hamburger M, Wolfender J-L, Hostettmann K (1993) Search for Chlorinated Sesquiterpene Lactones in the Neurotoxic Thistle Centaurea solstitialis by Liquid Chromatographic-Mass Spectrometry, and Model Studies on Their Possible Artifactual Formation. Nat Tox 1 315... 

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