ROP of bulky functional ?-lactones mediated by an achiral diamino-bis(phenolate) yttrium catalyst affords syndio-enriched polyhydroxyalkanoates.

BACKGROUND AND AIMS Stereochemical variation is widely known to influence the bioactivity of compounds in the context of pharmacology and pesticide science, but our understanding of its importance in mediating plant-herbivore interactions is limited, particularly in field settings. Similarly, sesquiterpene lactones are a broadly distributed class of putative defensive compounds, but little is k...

Introduction. – The styryl lactones have become a hot topic of phytochemistry and oncopharmacology after taxol. The genus Goniothalamus (Annonaceae) comprises a broad spectrum of styryl lactones, and its species were widely used as traditional medicines in China as antalgic and pesticide agents [1]. The extract of the seeds of Goniothalamus amuyon has been employed for the treatment of edema an...

OBJECTIVES The aim of this study was to determine the antimycobacterial potential of laurel oil, its fractions and its two sesquiterpene lactones against several mycobacterial strains and clinical isolates, and to establish the possibility of occurrence of some synergistic effects between those lactones using a modification of the fluorometric Alamar Blue microassay (FMABA). METHODS The in vi...

Sesquiterpene lactones are a large group of natural compounds, found primarily in plants of Asteraceae family, with over 5000 structures reported to date. Within this family, genus Artemisia is very well represented, having approximately 500 species characterized by the presence of eudesmanolides and guaianolides, especially highly oxygenated ones, and rarely of germacranolides. Sesquiterpene l...

Kava-kava is a traditional beverage of the South Pacific islanders and has had centuries of use without major side effects. Standardised extracts of kava-kava produced in Europe have led to many serious health problems and even to death. The extraction process (aqueous vs. acetone in the two types of preparations) is responsible for the difference in toxicity as extraction of glutathione in add...

A chemoenzymatic method was applied to obtain optically pure alkyl-substituted δ-lactones. First, chemical Baeyer-Villiger oxidation of dihydrojasmone (1) was carried out, affording two new alkyl-substituted δ-lactones: 3,4-dihydro-5-methyl-6-pentyl-2H-pyran-2-one (2) and 5-methyl-6-pentyl-1,13-dioxabicyclo[4.1.0]heptan-2-one (3). In the next step, fungal strains were investigated as biocatalys...

Plants have a long history as therapeutics in the treatment of human diseases and have been a continuous source of inspiration for the development of new medicines. Among them, the genus Inula (Asteraceae) comprisesmore than 100 species, many of which are widely used in traditional medicine for a variety of biological purposes including anti-inammatory, anti-cancer and antibacterial activities...

The acid-catalyzed hydrolysis of linear esters and lactones was studied using a hybrid supermolecule-polarizable continuum model (PCM) approach including up to six water molecules. The compounds studied included two linear esters, four β-lactones, two γ-lactones, and one δ-lactone: ethyl acetate, methyl formate, β-propiolactone, β-butyrolactone, β-isovalerolactone, diketene (4-methyleneoxetan-2...