Chemical transformations of parthenin, a natural bioactive sesquiterpenoid.

Chemical modifications of parthenin, a naturally occurring bioactive sesquiterpenoid, were carried out in regio- and stereoselective manners using various inexpensive reagents to form different natural and unnatural analogues. Reactions including dehydration, reduction, alkylation, addition and hydroxylation have been studied. In some of the analogues, the alpha-methylene-gamma-lactone moiety, which plays a vital role for bioactivity ofparthenin, remained intact.

Deoxypreussomerins from Jatropha curcas: are they also plant metabolites?

Three deoxypreussomerins, palmarumycins CP1, JC1 and JC2, have been isolated from a collection of the stems of Jatropha curcas. The second and third compounds are antibacterial constituents which were characterized from spectral evidence. The X-ray crystallographic structure of palmarumycin JC1 was also studied. Deoxypreussomerins have been obtained here from a plant source in appreciable quantities.