Terpenes isoprene units

Know the meaning of terpene, isoprene unit, monoterpene, sesquiterpene, diterpene triterpene, steroid. 

During the biosynthesis of terpenes, isoprene units are generally connected head to tail. 

The structural feature that distinguishes terpenes from other natural products is the iso prene unit The carbon skeleton of myrcene (exclusive of its double bonds) corresponds to the head to tail union of two isoprene units... 

The German chemist Otto Wallach (Nobel Prize m chemistry 1910) determined the structures of many terpenes and is credited with setting forth the isoprene rule ter penes are repeating assemblies of isoprene units normally joined head to tail... 

Terpenes are often referred to as isoprenoid compounds and are classified accord mg to the number of isoprene units they contain (Table 26 2)... 

Although the term terpene once referred only to hydrocarbons current usage includes functionally substituted derivatives as well grouped together under the general term isoprenoids Figure 26 6 (page 1086) presents the structural formulas for a number of representative examples The isoprene units m some of these are relatively easy to identify The three isoprene units m the sesquiterpene farnesol, for example are mdi cated as follows m color They are joined m a head to tail fashion... 

Many terpenes contain one or more rings but these also can be viewed as collec tions of isoprene units An example is a selmene Like farnesol it is made up of three isoprene units linked head to tail... 

Tail to tail linkages of isoprene units sometimes occur especially m the higher terpenes The C(12)—C(13) bond of squalene unites two C15 units m a tail to tail man ner Notice however that isoprene units are joined head to tail within each C15 unit of squalene... 

Terpenes are said to have structures that follow the isoprene rule in that they can be viewed as collections of isoprene units... 

Bile acids (Section 26 13) Steroid derivatives biosynthesized in the liver that aid digestion by emulsifying fats Bimolecular (Section 4 8) A process in which two particles re act in the same elementary step Biological isoprene unit (Section 26 8) Isopentenyl pyrophos phate the biological precursor to terpenes and steroids... 

Isoprene unit (Section 26 7) The characteristic five carbon structural unit found in terpenes... 

Terpenes (Section 26 7) Compounds that can be analyzed as clusters of isoprene units Terpenes with 10 carbons are classified as rnonoterpenes those with 15 are sesqmter penes those with 20 are diterpenes and those with 30 are tnterpenes... 

The isoprene unit exists extensively in nature. It is found in terpenes, camphors, diterpenes (eg, abietic acid), vitamins A and K, chlorophyll, and other compounds isolated from animal and plant materials. The correct stmctural formula for isoprene was first proposed in 1884 (7). 

Terpenes are characterized as being made up of units of isoprene in a head-to-tail orientation. This isoprene concept, invented to aid in the stmcture deterrnination of terpenes found in natural products, was especially useful for elucidation of stmctures of more complex sesquiterpenes, diterpenes, and polyterpenes. The hydrocarbon, myrcene, and the terpene alcohol, a-terpineol, can be considered as being made up of two isoprene units in such a head-to-tail orientation (1). 

Biological isoprene unit (Section 26.8) Isopentenyl pyrophosphate, the biological precursor to terpenes and steroids ... 

Terpenes (and terpenoids) are further classified according to the number of 5-carbon units they contain. Thus, monoterpenes are 10-carbon substances biosynthesized from two isoprene units, sesquiterpenes are 15-carbon molecules from three isoprene units, diterpenes are 20-carbon substances from four isoprene units, and so on. Monoterpenes and sesquiterpenes are found primarily in plants, but the higher terpenoids occur in both plants and animals, and many have important biological roles. The triterpenoid lanosterol, for example, is the precursor from which all steroid hormones are made. 

Trees and shrubs contain a group of fragrant compounds called terpenes. The simplest terpene is isoprene. All other terpenes are built around carbon skeletons constructed from one or more isoprene units. Plants emit terpenes into the atmosphere, as anyone who has walked in a pine or eucalyptus forest will have noticed. The possible effect of terpenes on the concentration of ozone in the troposphere has been the subject of much debate and has led to careful measurements of rates of reaction with ozone. 

Scheme 13.6 is a retrosynthetic outline of the syntheses in Schemes 13.7 to 13.9. The common feature of these syntheses is the use of terpene-derived starting materials. The use of such a starting material is suggested by the terpenoid structure of juvabione, which can be divided into isoprene units. ... 

More than half of the reported secondary metabolites from macroalgae are isoprenoids. Terpenes, steroids, carotenoids, prenylated quinines, and hydroqui-nones make up the isoprenoid class, which is understood to derive from either the classical mevalonate pathway, or the mevalonate-independent pathway (Stratmann et al. 1992). Melavonic acid (MVA) (Fig. 1.2) is the first committed metabolite of the terpene pathway. Dimethylallyl (dl meth al lal) pyrophosphate (DMAPP) (Fig. 1.3) and its isomer isopentenyl pyrophosphate (IPP, Fig. 1.3) are intermediates of the MVA pathway and exist in nearly all life forms (Humphrey and Beale 2006). Geranyl (ja ran al) (C10) and famesyl (C15) units are generated by head-to-tail (Fig. 1.3) condensation of two (for C10) or three (for C15) 5-carbon DMA-like isoprene units, identifiable in final products by the characteristic fish-tail repeating units, as traced over the structure of a sesquiterpene in Fig. 1.3 (Humphrey and Beale 2006). Additional IPP condensation with famesyl pyrophosphate (FPP)... 

From their carbon skeletons terpenes can be seen as isoprene (C5) oligomers. Terpenes are classified according to their number of isoprene units as monoterpenes (C10), sesquiterpenes (Q5), diterpenes (C2o), etc. /1-Carotene (1) is a tetrater-pene. 

Turpentine is a mixture of CioHie volatile terpenes (hydrocarbons made of isoprene units). There are actually four different types and methods of making turpentine, including steam distillation of wood. The two pinenes, a and P, are major components of turpentine. Other compounds found in abundant amounts are camphene, dipentene, terpinolene, and A -carene. Although it has been replaced by petroleum hydrocarbons as paint thinners (lower price, less odor), turpentine is still a good solvent and thinner in many specialty applications. The use pattern for turpentine is as follows synthetic... 

Problem 9.35 Pick out the isoprene units in the terpenes limonene, myrcene and a-pheliandrene, and in vitamin A, shown below,... 

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