A new cassane diterpene was isolated from Amazonian crude drug, "Acapu, " the wood of Vouacapoua americana, together with two known cassane furanoditerpenes, (+)-vouacapenic acid and (+)-methyl vouacapenate. The structure was characterized as cassa-13(14), 15-dien-19-oic acid on the basis of spectroscopic evidence.

Spiroviolene is a spirocyclic triquinane diterpene produced by Streptomyces violens. Recently, biosynthetic pathway that includes secondary carbocation intermediates and complicated concerted skeletal rearrangement was proposed for spiroviolene, based upon careful labeling experiments. On the basis of density functional theory (DFT) calculations, we propose revised spiroviolene biosynthesis, in...

Structural modification of salvinorin A, the active component of Salvia divinorum, has resulted in the synthesis of novel neoclerodane diterpenes with opioid receptor affinity and activity. We report in this study a nonnitrogenous neoclerodane diterpene with mu opioid receptor affinity (13) that is an agonist at mu opioid receptors. This represents the identification of a novel structural class...

Seventeen new derivatives of the natural diterpene leubethanol, including some potential pro-drugs, with changes in the functionality of the aliphatic chain or modifications of aromatic ring and the phenolic group, were synthesized and tested in vitro by the MABA technique for their activity against the H37Rv strain of Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Some compounds showed antimycobacterial selectiv...

In vitro assays using recombinant enzymes enabled three cDNAs encoding ent-copalyl diphosphate synthases to be identified in wheat (Triticum aestivum): TaCPS1, TaCPS2, and TaCPS3. The phylogenetic tree and expression analyses suggest that TaCPS3 is responsible for gibberellin biosynthesis, while TaCPS1 and TaCPS2 are possible functional homologs of diterpene cyclase genes OsCPS2 and OsCPS4 invo...

Chemical investigations of the Egyptian soft coral Sarcophyton ehrenbergi have led to the isolation of compounds 1-3 as well as the previously reported marine cembranoid diterpene sarcophine (4). Structures were elucidated by comprehensive NMR and HRMS experimentation. Isolated compounds were in vitro assayed for cytotoxic activity against human hepatocarcinoma (HepG2) and breast adenocarcinoma...

A new cembrane diterpene, 6-acetoxy-7,8-epoxynephthenol acetate (1) was isolated along with a known compound, epoxynephthenol acetate (2), from the organic extract of a Bornean soft coral Nephthea sp. Their structures were elucidated on the basis of spectroscopic analyses and comparison with those previous literature data.

Bielschowskysin is a naturally occurring diterpene isolated from the Caribbean gorgonian octocoral Pseudopterogorgia kallos. Its highly oxygenated hexacyclic structure is based on a previously undescribed tricyclo[9.3.0.0(2,10)]tetradecane ring system that was established through spectroscopic analysis and X-ray crystallographic analysis. Bielschowskysin was shown to exhibit antimalarial activi...

Salvinorin A is a pharmacologically active diterpene that occurs naturally in the Mexican mint Ska Maria Pastora (Salvia divinorum) and represents the first naturally occurring kappa-opioid receptor agonist. The chemical structure of salvinorin A is novel among the opioids, and thus defines a new structural class of kappa-opioid-receptor selective drugs. Few studies have examined the effects of...