Alkaloids steroids

The path from squalene (114) to the corresponding oxide and thence to lanosterol [79-63-0] (126), C qH qO, cholesterol [57-88-5] (127), and cycloartenol [469-38-5] (128) (Fig. 6) has been demonstrated in nonphotosynthetic organisms. It has not yet been demonstrated that there is an obligatory path paralleling the one known for generation of plant sterols despite the obvious stmctural relationships of, for example, cycloartenol (128), C qH qO, to cyclobuxine-D (129), C25H42N2O. The latter, obtained from the leaves of Buxus sempervirens E., has apparentiy found use medicinally for many disorders, from skin and venereal diseases to treatment of malaria and tuberculosis. In addition to cyclobuxine-D [2241-90-9] (129) from the Buxaceae, steroidal alkaloids are also found in the Solanaceae, Apocynaceae, and LiUaceae. 

Steroid alkaloids have been isolated from four famihes of terrestrial plant sources (Soianaceae l iliaceae pOijnaceae and Buxaceae) two animal sources (Saiamandra and Phjllobates) and several marine sources. Steroid alkaloids can be classified based on stmcture and fall into a variety of categories. The spirosolanes contain a cholestane skeleton with a C20 spiroaminoketal moiety, as exemplified by the most abundant members of this class, veramine... 

The amino functional group is not commonly encountered in steroid synthesis except perhaps in steroidal alkaloids. However, certain elimination reactions have been shown to have theoretical and limited preparative importance, largely due to the efforts of McKenna and co-workers. The Hofmann rule for 2 elimination predicts that alkaline elimination of quaternary ammonium salts will occur towards the carbon carrying the most hydrogen atoms cf. the converse Saytzeff orientation, above). In cyclohexyl systems, the requirement for diaxial elimination appears to be important, as in other 2 eliminations, and the Hofmann rule frequently is not obeyed [e.g., (116) (117)]. 

The C-nor-D-homosteroid rearrangement was discovered by Hirschmann and co-workers at the time that Wintersteiner and his collaborators established that the steroid alkaloids jervine and veratramine incorporate a 14 (1312) abeo-nng system. This was the predecessor of the family of simultaneous ring contraction-expansion reactions. Solvolysis of the 12j5-methanesulfonate (144a) gives mainly the kinetic reaction product, the C-nor-D-homo exocyclic olefin (145) along with some 13(17)-ene (146a). 

A steroidal alkaloid, ( + )-buxalongifolamidine (2) was isolated from the leaves of Buxus lonpfolia Boiss of Turkish origin (Atta-ur-Rahman el al, 1993). The HREIMS of 2 showed the molecular ion at m/z 578.3533 corresponding to the molecular formula C35H60N2O5 representing twelve... 

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