Sesquiterpene hydrocarbons with trifarane backbone in the liverwort Trocholejeunea sandvicensis.

ABSTRACT

The hydrocarbon fraction of the liverwort Trocholejeunea sandvicensis was investigated. Four new sesquiterpene hydrocarbons including the trifaranes (-)-trifara-9,14-diene (6) and (-)-3,7-di-epi-3,7-trifara-9,14-diene (7), as well as (+)-sandvicene (8), a sesquiterpene with uncommon skeleton, and the rearranged trifarane sesquiterpene (+)-neotrifaradiene (9) were isolated and their structure elucidated. A biogenetic pathway for the four compounds is proposed, with nerolidol as their common precursor.