Regio- and stereoselectivity of beta-himachalene epoxidation by m-CPBA. A theoretical study

BF3·OEt2-Catalyzed Rearrangement of Epoxy-Himachalenes: Access to New Biosourced N-Acetamide-Based Himachalenes

Biosourced N-acetamide-based himachalenes were synthesized by Lewis acid catalyzed rearrangement of epoxy-himachalene derived from α-cis- and β-himachalenes, the main component of essential oil of Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). Several new chiral polycyclic N-acetamide compounds were obtained with different selectivities depending on the acid used. Among the Lewis acids used, BF3·OEt2 under catalytic and mild conditions is efficient and selective affording the formation of chiral N-acetamides in good yields. Otherwise, using acetonitrile as solvent and reagent was proved as an efficient tool giving access to new N-acetamide-based himachalenes. A mechanism to explain the formation of the different compounds observed in the reaction mixture has also been proposed.

Understanding the Mechanism and Selectivities of the Reaction of Meta-Chloroperbenzoic Acid and Dibromocarbene with β-Himachalene: A DFT Study

This study was performed to understand the site selectivity in the reaction between β-himachalene and meta-chloroperbenzoic acid (m-CPBA) in the first step followed by the addition of dibromocarbene (CBr2) to the main monoepoxidation product Pα formed in the first reaction. Calculations were performed using the Becke three-parameter hybrid exchange functional and the Lee–Yang–Parr correlation functional (B3LYP) with the 6-311 + G (d, p) basis set. Transition states were located by QST2, and their highlighting was validated by the existence of only one imaginary frequency in the Hessian matrix. The action of m-CPBA on β-himachalene was analyzed on the two double bonds of β-himachalene whose theoretical calculations show that the attack affects the most substituted double bond on α side containing hydrogen of ring junction. The obtained Pα product thereafter treated with dibromocarbene leads via an exothermic reaction to the six-membered ring double bond position of α-monoepoxide. The major products Pαα are kinetically and thermodynamically favored with a high stereoselectivity in perfect correlation with the experimental observations.

Conformational, configurational, and supramolecular studies of podocephalol acetate from Lasianthaea aurea

Although podocephalol (1) and its derived acetate 2 were found in Lasianthaea podocephala four decades ago, and 1 was later detected in the essential oils of several vegetal species, its absolute configuration (AC) and conformational preferences remained to be established. The structures of ar-himachalene 1, now isolated from Lasianthaea aurea, and its derived acetate 2, were herein confirmed by extensive 1D and 2D nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) studies, while the conformational preferences of the cycloheptene was established by density functional theory (DFT) calculations, which in combination with vibrational circular dichroism measurements provided the (R) absolute configuration of the molecules. The structure and AC were further verified through the Flack and Hooft parameters calculations derived from single crystal X-ray diffraction data of 2. In addition, careful evaluation of the crystal data allowed observing supramolecular layers cell package, an uncommon property in natural terpenes that might have potential applications. A transmission electron microscopy analysis of crystal of 2 was also possible, providing its physical characteristics at the micrometric scale.

1,6-Diacetyl-2-isopropyl-4,7-dimethylnaphthalene

The title compound, C19H22O2, was synthesized in three steps from a mixture of α-, β- and γ-himachalene, which was isolated from an essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). In the crystal, molecules are linked by C—H...O hydrogen bonds into chains running parallel to thebaxis.

Synthesis and Fungicidal Activities of (Z/E)-3,7-Dimethyl-2,6-octadienamide and Its 6,7-Epoxy Analogues

In order to find new lead compounds with high fungicidal activity, (Z/E)-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienoic acids were synthesized via selective two-step oxidation using the commercially available geraniol/nerol as raw materials. Twenty-eight different (Z/E)-3,7-dimethyl-2,6-octadienamide derivatives were prepared by reactions of (Z/E)-carboxylic acid with various aromatic and aliphatic amines, followed by oxidation of peroxyacetic acid to afford their 6,7-epoxy analogues. All of the compounds were characterized by HR-ESI-MS and ¹H-NMR spectral data. The preliminary bioassays showed that some of these compounds exhibited good fungicidal activities against Rhizoctonia solani (R. solani) at a concentration of 50 µg/mL. For example, 5C, 5I and 6b had 94.0%, 93.4% and 91.5% inhibition rates against R. solani, respectively. Compound 5f displayed EC₅₀ values of 4.3 and 9.7 µM against Fusahum graminearum and R. Solani, respectively.

Triterpenoids and an alkamide from Ganoderma tsugae

Ganoderma tsugae is a medicinal mushroom. In a continual study on the bioactive constituents of this fungus, a new lanostanoid, 3β-acetoxy-16α-hydroxy-24ξ-methyl-5α-lanosta-8,25-dien-21-oic acid, named tsugaric acid F (1) and a novel palmitamide, N-(3'α,4'β-dihydroxy-2'β-(hydroxymethyl)-1'β-(cyclobutyl)palmitamide (2) were isolated and characterized from the fruit bodies of G. tsugae, and three novel seco-lanostanoids, 3,4-seco-8α,9α-epoxy-5α-lanosta-21-oic acid 3,4 lactone (5), 3,4-seco-5β-lanosta-7,9(11),4(29)-trien-3,21-dioic acid-3-methyl ester (6), 3,4-seco-5β-lanosta-7,9(11),4(29)-trien-3,21-dioic acid (7), and a known compound, 3-oxo-5α-lanosta-8-en-21-oic acid (4) were prepared from 3. The structures of new compounds, 1, 2, 5-7 were determined by spectroscopic methods. Compounds 1 and 4 showed inhibitory effects on xanthine oxidase (XO) with an IC50 values of 313.3 ± 80.0 and 43.9 ± 29.9 μM, respectively when 7 exhibited potent inhibitory effect on superoxide anion generation in rat neutrophils stimulated with formyl-Met-Leu-Phe (fMLP)/cytochalasin B (CB) with an IC50 values of 1.3 ± 0.2 μM. Compounds 4-7 showed weak cytotoxic activities against PC3 cells. These results indicated that 4 and 7 may be used as cancer chemopreventive agents.

Synthesis of guaia-4(5)-en-11-ol, guaia-5(6)-en-11-ol, aciphyllene, 1-epi-melicodenones C and E, and other guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids via the diastereoselective epoxidation of guaiol

The diastereomeric ratio of epoxidation of the internally bridged carbon-carbon double bond of guaiol (1a) is strongly influenced by the combined effects of the types of remote protecting groups on the hydroxyisopropyl side chain, choice of solvent, and epoxidizing reagent. This observation has allowed us to devise concise stereoselective syntheses of a range of guaiane-type sesquiterpenoids via an epoxidation, ring-opening/elimination, and functionality manipulation sequence. Natural products guaia-4(5)-en-11-ol (2a), guaia-5(6)-en-11-ol (3), and aciphyllene (4a) and epimers of the recently isolated natural products, 1-epi-guaia-4(5)-en-11-ol (2b), 1-epi-aciphyllene (4b), and 1-epi-melicodenones C (5a) and E (6a), were synthesized in good yields in relatively few steps.

(1S,3R,8R)-2,2-Di-chloro-3,7,7,10-tetra-methyl-tri-cyclo-[6.4.0.0(1,3)]dodec-9-en-11-one

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₂Cl₂O, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzo­cyclo­heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica). The mol­ecule is built up from fused six- and seven-membered rings and an additional three-membered ring arising from the reaction of himachalene with di­chloro­carbene. The six-membered ring has an envelope conformation, with the C atom belonging to the three-membered ring forming the flap, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a screw-boat conformation; the dihedral angle between the rings (all atoms) is 59.65 (14)°.

(1S,3R,8R,9R,10S)-2,2-Dibromo-3,7,7,10-tetra-methyl-9β,10β-ep-oxy-3,7,7,10-tetra-methyl-tricyclo-[6.4.0.0(1,3)]dodeca-ne

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₄Br₂O, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzocyclo­heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). The mol­ecule contains fused six- and seven-membered rings, each linked to a three-membered ring. The six-membered ring has a half-chair conformation, while the seven-membered ring displays a chair conformation. The dihedral angle between the mean planes through the six- and seven-membered rings is 39.55 (12)°. The two three-membered rings, linked to the six- and seven-membered rings, are nearly perpendicular to the six-membered ring, making dihedral angles of 78.6 (2) and 80.5 (2)°, respectively. The absolute structure was established unambiguously from anomalous dispersion effects. In the crystal, each mol­ecule is linked to its symmetry-equivalent partner by C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds, forming zigzag chains parallel to [100].

2,2-Dichloro-3,7,7,11-tetra-methyl-10-aza-tetra-cyclo-[6.5.0.0(1,3).0(9,11)]trideca-ne

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₅Cl₂N, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzocyclo­heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica). The mol­ecule is built up from fused six- and seven-membered rings linked to two three-membered rings. The six-membered ring shows a half-chair conformation, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a boat conformation. The dihedral angle between the mean planes through the six- and seven-membered rings is 59.8 (2)°. The two three-membered rings lie to one side and each is nearly perpendicular to the six-membered ring, forming dihedral angles of 83.2 (2) and 86.0 (2)°. The absolute structure was established unambiguously from anomalous dispersion effects. No specific inter­molecular inter­actions are noted in the crystal structure.

(1S,3R,8R,9S,11R)-2,2,10,10-Tetra-chloro-3,7,7,11-tetra-methyl-tetra-cyclo-[6.5.0.0(1,3).0(9,11)]trideca-ne

The title compound, C(17)H(24)Cl(4), was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra-methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa-hydro-1H-benzocyclo-heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica). The mol-ecule is built up from fused six- and seven-membered rings and two three-membered rings from the reaction of β-himachalene with dichloro-carbene. The six-membered ring shows a chair conformation, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a boat conformation.

(1S,3R,8R)-2,2-Dibromo-10-bromomethyl-3,7,7-trimethyltricyclo[6.4.0.01,3]dodec-9-ene

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₃Br₃, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzocyclo­heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica). The mol­ecule is built up from fused six- and seven-membered rings and an additional three-membered ring from the reaction of himachalene with dibromo­carbene. The six-membered ring has an envelope conformation (the flap atom being the C atom shared with the three-membered ring, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a screw boat conformation; the dihedral angle between the rings (defined by the near coplanar atoms) is 56.5 (2)°.

(1S,3R,8R)-2,2-Dibromo-3,7,7,10-tetra-methyltricyclo-[6.4.0.0(1,3)]dodec-9-en-11-one

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₂Br₂O, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzocyclo­heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica). The mol­ecule is built up from fused six- and seven-membered rings and an additional three-membered ring from the reaction of himachalene with dibromo­carbene. The six-membered ring has an envelope conformation, with the C atom belonging to the three-membered ring forming the flap, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a screw-boat conformation; the dihedral angle between the rings (all atoms) is 60.92 (16)°.

(1S,3R,8R)-2,2-Dibromo-3,7,7,10-tetra-methyl-tricyclo-[6.4.0.0(1,3)]dodec-9-ene

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₄Br₂, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzocyclo­heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica). The mol­ecule is built up from two fused six- and seven-membered rings and an additional three-membered ring from the reaction of β-himachalene with dibromo­carbene. The six-membered ring shows a screw-boat conformation, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a boat conformation; the dihedral angle between the mean planes through the rings is 57.9 (4)°. The absolute structure was established unambiguously from anomalous dispersion effects.

1-Isopropyl-4,7-dimethyl-2,8-dinitro-naphthalene

The title compound, C₁₅H₁₆N₂O₄, was synthesized from a mixture of α-himachalene (2-methyl­ene-6,6,9-trimethyl­bicyclo­[5.4.O^1,7]undec-8-ene) and β-himachalene (2,6,6,9-tetra­methyl­bicyclo­[5.4.0^1,7]undeca-1,8-diene) which were isolated from an oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). The asymmetric unit contains two independent mol­ecules. In each of the two mol­ecules, two O atoms of one nitro group are disordered over two sets of sites with site-occupancy factors of 0.636 (5):0.364 (5) and 0.832 (5):0.168 (5). The crystal structure features weak C—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

(1S,3R,8R,11S)-2,2-Dichloro-3,7,7,10-tetramethyltricyclo[6.4.0.01,3]dodec-9-en-11-ol

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₄Cl₂O, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzocyclo­heptene), which was isolated from essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus atlantica). The two fused rings exhibit different conformations: the six-membered ring has a screw-boat conformation, while the seven-membered ring displays a boat conformation. The dihedral angle between the two rings is 56.56 (18)°. In the crystal, mol­ecules aggregate into supra­molecular chains along the c axis mediated by O—H⋯O hydrogen bonds.

(1S,3R,8R)-9-(1-Amino-ethyl-idene)-2,2-dichloro-3,7,7-trimethyl-tricyclo-[6.4.0.0]undecan-10-one

The title compound, C(16)H(23)Cl(2)NO, was synthesised from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra-methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa-hydro-1H-benzocyclo-heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (Cedrus Atlantica). The mol-ecule contains a seven membered ring, which is fused to a five- and a three-membered ring. The five-membered ring has a twisted conformation, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a chair conformation. The dihedral angle between the five- and seven-membered rings is 45.26 (9)°. The absolute structure was established unambiguously from anomalous dispersion effects. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked into chains propagating along the b axis by inter-molecular N-H⋯O hydrogen bonds; an intramolecular N-H⋯O link also occurs.

(1S,3R,8S,9R,10S)-2,2-Dichloro-3,7,7,10-tetra-methyl-9,10-ep-oxy-tricyclo-[6.4.0.0]dodeca-ne

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₄Cl₂O, was synthesized from β-himachalene (3,5,5,9-tetra­methyl-2,4a,5,6,7,8-hexa­hydro-1H-benzocyclo­heptene), which was isolated from the essential oil of the Atlas cedar (cedrus atlantica). The mol­ecule forms an extended sheet of two fused rings which exhibit different conformations. The six-membered ring has a half-chair conformation, while the seven-membered ring displays a chair conformation; the dihedral angle between the two rings is 38.2 (1)°.

(1S,2R,8R)-2,2-Dichloro-3,7,7,10-tetra-methyltricyclo-[6.4.0.0]dodec-10-en-9-one

The title compound, C₁₆H₂₂Cl₂O, was synthesized from β-himachalene, which was isolated from essential oil of the Atlas cedar (cedrus atlantica). The asymmetric unit contains two independent mol­ecules, in each of which the six-membered ring shows a half-chair conformation, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a boat conformation. The dihedral angle between the two rings is slightly different in the two mol­ecules [63.22 (13) and 61.81 (14)°].

(1S,2S,4R)-3,3-Dichloro-4,8,12,12-tetra-methyl-tricyclo-[5.5.0.0]dodeca-6,8-diene

The title compound, C(16)H(22)Cl(2), a derivative of β-himachalene, was semi-synthesized from natural essential oils of Cedrus atlantica. The mol-ecule is built up from two fused six- and seven-membered rings. The six-membered ring has a perfect chair conformation, whereas the seven-membered ring displays a screw boat conformation; the dihedral angle between the rings is 46.48 (9)°.

The Role of Asynchronous Bond Formation in the Diastereoselective Epoxidation of Cyclic Enol Ethers: A Density Functional Theory Study

Density functional theory (DFT) (Becke3LYP functional and the D95 basis set) was used to study the influence of substitution on the dimethyldioxirane epoxidation reaction of six- and seven-membered cyclic enol ethers. In agreement with our previously reported experimental results, the calculations predict that substitution on the cyclic enol ether influences the level of diastereoselectivity. Apparent only from the calculations is that the degree of synchronicity in the transition state is important in the diastereoselectivity.

Are Peroxyformic Acid and Dioxirane Electrophilic or Nucleophilic Oxidants?,

The electronic character of peroxyformic acid and dioxirane has been clarified by the analysis of donor-acceptor interactions in 16 transition states (TS) for the epoxidation of olefins. Is has been shown that the olefins are attacked by peroxyformic acid (PFA) in an electrophilic way. A relation of the electronic character to reactivity has been found: the more electrophilic the attack on the C=C bond is, the faster the reaction. In contrast, dioxirane (DO) has been identified as both an electrophilic and nucleophilic oxidant, depending on the substituents at the C=C double bond. The substrates with electron-withdrawing groups are attacked by DO in a nucleophilic way. These reactions have comparably low activation barriers. For instance, the acrylonitrile epoxidation with dioxirane is significantly faster than the corresponding reaction with PFA and proceeds via a transition state with a smaller extent of reaction and a larger extent of asymmetry.