- Pyrrolizidine Alkaloid Biosynthesis. Synthesis of 3H-Labelled Trachelanthamidine and Isoretronecanol and their Incorporation into Three Pyrrolizidine Bases (Necines)
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(+/-)-Isoretronecanol (22) and (+/-)-trachelanthamidine (24) were prepared by 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of N-formylproline with ethyl propiolate followed by reduction steps.These 3H-labelled 1-hydroxymethylpyrrolizidines together with putrescine were fed to Senecio isatideus which produces retrorsine (1); S. pleistocephalus which yields rosmarinine (8); and Cynoglossum officinale which affords echinatine (5).The double labelling experiments demonstrated that isoretronecanol is incorporated much more efficiently into rosmarinine than into retrorsine or echinatine, whereas trachelanthamidine is a much more efficient precursor for retrorsine and echinatine.Base hydrolysis of retrorsine and echinatine labelled with trachelanthamidine and of rosmarinine labelled with isoretronecanol established that most of the 3H-label was in the base portions, retronecine (2), heliotridine (6), and rosmarinecine (9), respectively.Further degradation of retronecine and rosmarinecine showed that most of the radioactivity was confined to the β-alanine (4) portion.The biosynthetic pathways to isoretronecanol and trachelanthamidine apparently diverge prior to the formation of these 1-hydroxymethylpyrrolizidines, probably during the cyclisation of an immonium ion (14) to form the 1-formylpyrrolizidines (15) and (17).
- Kunec, Ellen K.,Robins, David J.
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p. 1437 - 1441
(2007/10/02)
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