First Total Synthesis of Phytoprostanes with Prostaglandin-Like Configuration, Evidence for Their Formation in Edible Vegetable Oils and Orienting Study of Their Biological Activity

Phytoprostanes (PhytoP) are natural products, which form in plants under oxidative stress conditions from α-linolenic acid. However, their epimers with relative prostaglandin configuration termed phytoglandins (PhytoG) have never been detected in Nature, likely because of the lack of synthetic reference material. Here, the first asymmetric total synthesis of such compounds, namely of PhytoGF_1α (9-epi-16-F_1t -PhytoP) and its diastereomer ent-16-epi-PhytoGF_1α (ent-9,16-diepi-16-F_1t -PhytoP), has been accomplished. The synthetic strategy is based on radical anion oxidative cyclization, copper(I)-mediated alkyl-alkyl coupling and enantioselective reduction reactions. A UHPLC-MS/MS study using the synthesized compounds as standards indicates PhytoG formation at significant levels during autoxidation of α-linolenic acid in edible vegetable oils. Initial testing of synthetic PhytoGs together with F₁ -PhytoP and 15-F_2t -IsoP derivatives for potential interactions with the PGF_2α (FP) receptor did not reveal significant activity. The notion that PUFA-derived oxidatively formed cyclic metabolites with prostaglandin configuration do not form to a significant extent in biological or food matrices has to be corrected. Strong evidence is provided that oxidatively formed PhytoG metabolites may be ingested with plant-derived food, which necessitates further investigation of their biological profile.

Total syntheses of all tri-oxygenated 16-phytoprostane classes via a common precursor constructed by oxidative cyclization and alkyl-alkyl coupling reactions as the key steps

A unified strategy for the total synthesis of the methyl esters of all phytoprostane (PhytoP) classes bearing two ring-oxygen atoms based on an orthogonally protected common precursor is described. Racemic 16-F_1t-, 16-E₁-PhytoP and their C-16 epimers, which also occur as racemates in Nature, were successfully obtained. The first total synthesis of very sensitive 16-D_1t-PhytoP succeeded, however, it quickly isomerized to more stable, but so far also unknown Δ¹³-16-D_1t-PhytoP, which may serve as a more reliable biomarker for D-type PhytoP. The dioxygenated cyclopentane ring carrying the ω-chain with the oxygen functionality in the 16-position was approached by a radical oxidative cyclization mediated by ferrocenium hexafluorophosphate and TEMPO. The α-chain was introduced by a new copper-catalyzed alkyl-alkyl coupling of a 6-heptenyl Grignard reagent with a functionalized cyclopentylmethyl triflate.