Two new limonoids, malayanines A and B, were identified by researchers at the University of Malaya, Kuala Lumpur, Malaysia, and their colleagues in France. The new limonoids were isolated from the bark of the tree Chisocheton erythrocarpus. Other limonoids include azadirachtin, walsogyne A, and the velutabularins compounds with demonstrable anticancer, antimalarial and insecticidal properties.
The complex skeleton of the limonoids contains a furanolactone group connected to several five- or six-membered carbon rings and always represents an intriguing target for synthetic organic chemists. The same team previously identified erythrocarpine E from the same tree. This is a limonoid that can trigger programmed cell death, apoptosis in cells. However, the newly discovered malayanines A and B contain previously unseen tetrahydropyran-2-ol and tetrahyrofuran-2-ol substructures, respectively, within their tetranortriterpenoid core offering attractive molecular diversity and new potential activities.
- Malayanines A and B, two novel limonoids from Chisocheton erythrocarpus Hiern,
Soon-Lim Chong, Khalijah Awang, Marie Therese Martin, Mat Ropi Mokhtar, Gomathi Chan, Marc Litaudon, Francoise Gueritte, Khalit Mohamad
Tetrahedron Lett. 2012, 53, 5355–5359.
DOI: 10.1016/j.tetlet.2012.07.067
