Synthesis of 7‐acetyloxy‐3,7‐dimethy1‐7,8‐dihydro‐6H‐isochromene‐6,8‐dione and its analogues

7‐Alkanoyloxy‐3,7‐dimefhyl‐7,8‐dihydro‐6H‐isochromene‐6,8‐diones 12‐15 were synthesized in 69‐16% yields from the reaction of 2,4‐dihydroxy‐3‐methyl‐6‐(2‐oxopropyl)benzaldehyde 11 with p‐toluenesulfonic acid in various carboxylic acids such as acetic acid, propionic acid, butyric acid and heptanoic acid followed by oxidation with lead tetraacetate. On the other hand, (±)‐daldinin A 5 (oleate) was not obtained using oleic acid as a medium. In the cases of heptanoic acid and oleic acid, esters 16 and 17 were produced in 23 and 9% yields, respectively. 6,8‐Dihydroxy‐3,7‐dimethyl‐2‐benzopyrylium p‐toluenesulfonate 31 is considered as the intermediate for the production of 12‐15. Overall yields of isochromenes 12‐15 were 26‐6% starting from 2‐methylresorcinol for seven steps.     

Carboxylic Acids from <Emphasis Type="Italic">Phyllanthus urinaria</Emphasis>

Five compounds, terephthalic acid mono-[2-(4-carboxy-phenoxycarbonyl)-vinyl] ester (1), (E)-3-(5′-hydroperoxy-2,2′-dihydroxy[1,1′-biphenyl]-4-yl)-2-propenoic acid (2), 3,4,5-trihydroxybenzoic acid (3), succinic acid (or butanedioic acid) (4), and 2,3,4,5,6-pentahydroxybenzoic acid (5), were isolated from Phyllanthus urinaria. The structures of these compounds were elucidated by means of spectral techniques including IR, MS, and 1D/2D NMR. 1 and 2 are new compounds.__________Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 1, pp. 14–17, January–February, 2005.     

Fatty acids of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Stachys milanii</Emphasis> seeds

For the first time the total acid composition of the seeds of Stachys milanii Petrovic, a species endemic to the central and eastern Balkan Peninsula and growing spontaneously at two localities, was examined by GC and GC/MS. The major fatty acid was linoleic or oleic acid. Besides fatty acids that represent the usual seed oil constituents, 6-octadecynoic and 9-oxononanoic acid were identified in considerable amounts. The high content of 6-octadecynoic acid makes S. milanii seed oil a good potential source for the active substance in antifungal preparations. From the chemotaxonomical point of view, small amounts of octadecatrienoic acid detected in the seeds suggested classification of S. milanii as an archaic taxon. Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 315–317, July–August, 2007.     

Self‐assembly of Renewable Nano‐sized Triterpenoids

Studies on plant metabolites have gained renewed interest in recent years because these can serve as renewable chemicals for the development of a sustainable society. Among various plant secondary metabolites, terpenoids constitute the major component and triterpenoids are the 30C subset of it. In recent years, triterpenoids have drawn the attention of scientific community due to many of its potential and realized applications in medicine, drug delivery, thermochromic materials, pollutant capture, catalysis, liquid crystals, etc. In this personal review, we have discussed our computational results carried out on sixty representative naturally occurring triterpenoids demonstrating that all the triterpenoids are renewable functional nano‐entities. Study of the self‐assembly of several triterpenoids such as betulin, betulinic acid, oleanolic acid, glycyrrhetinic acid and arjunolic acid and their derivatives in different liquids have also been discussed. Moreover, the utilization of the resulting supramolecular architectures such as vesicles, spheres, flowers and fibrillar networks of nano‐ to micrometer dimensions and gels have also been discussed in the perspective of green, renewable and nanos.     

New Approach to the Synthesis of <Emphasis Type="Italic">trans</Emphasis>-Aconitic Acid Imides

N-arylimides of trans-aconitic acid were prepared by boiling the acid in a glacial acetic acid with N-arylamines. N-Arylamides of the trans-aconitic acid were obtained as intermediates in the course of the synthesis of the corresponding imides. The condensation of the trans-aconitic acid amides with hydrazine afforded arylamides of 1-amino-2,6-dioxo-1,2,3,6-tetrahydropyridine-4-carboxylic acid and proved the cis configuration of the initial amides.__________Translated from Zhurnal Organicheskoi Khimii, Vol. 41, No. 5, 2005, pp. 730–737.Original Russian Text Copyright © 2005 by Martynov.     

Über primäre Disazofarbstoffe mit Aminonaphtol-sulfonsäuren

Disazo dyes from 6-amino-1-hydroxy-naphthalene-3-sulfonic acid (J acid) were synthesized by coupling ortho-hydroxy monoazo dyes with different diazonium compounds in acid medium (dyes No 3 – 14 . A second coupling to the ortho position of the amino group was also possible with the copper complexes of o,o' -dihydroxy monoazo dyes from 8-amino-1-hydroxynaphthalene-3,6-disulfonic acid (H acid) dyes No 19 – 22 ). This is a reversal of the well known rule that the formation of disazo dyes with aminonaphthol-sulfonic acids is only practicable when an acid coupling is followed by an alkaline one. 5-Amino-1-hydroxy-naphthalene-3-sulfonic acid (M acid), which is said to form no disazo dyes, could be coupled twice with several diazonium compounds to yield disazo dyes (dyes No 24 , 26 , 27 , 29 ).     

Fluorénacènes et fluorénaphènes synthèses dans la série des indéno-fluorènes,XVII. Dérivés méthylés du cis-fluorénacène,du trans-fluorénacène et du trans-fluorénaphène

By condensation of the chlorides of the three 9-oxo-fluorene-2-, -3-, and -4-carboxylic acids with 4-bromo-1,2-xylene on one side, and of the chlorides of o-bromobenzoic acid, 2-bromo-4-methyl-benzoic acid and 2-bromo-4,5-dimethyl-benzoic acid with fluorene, 2-methylfluorene and 3-methylfluorene on the other side, followed by direct or indirect cyclisation and by final reduction, several new methyl derivatives of the indenofluorenes I, II and IV are synthesized.     

Separation and Retention Behavior of Aromatic Carboxylic Acid Isomers by High‐Performance‐Liquid‐Chromatography Using β‐Cyclodextrin Bonded Phase with Diamine‐s‐Triazine Moiety

A β‐cyclodextrin (β‐CD) bonded phase with diamine‐s‐triazine moiety was prepared. The separation and retention behavior of the isomers of five aromatic carboxylic acids, including toluic acid, aminobenzoic acid, nitrobenzoic acid, hydroxybenzoic acid, and naphthoic acid were investigated by a high‐performance liquid chromatography (HPLC) using the β‐CD bonded phase prepared. The influence of mobile phase pH in the range of 2.7‐3.6 on the retention of these analytes was examined. The isomers of the aromatic carboxylic acids, with the exception of nitrobenzoic acid, were optimally and effectively separated at pH 2.7, while the three isomers of nitrobenzoic acid could be well separated at pH 3.3. Compared with the chromatographic results obtained previously on the amine‐s‐triazine‐β‐CD bonded phase, the retention factors of the isomers of aromatic carboxylic acid on the diamine‐s‐triazine‐β‐CD bonded phase increase to a relatively much greater extent. Thus, the functionality of the spacer arm of the bonded phase playing an important role in the retention of aromatic carboxylic acid isomers is demonstrated. The results also imply that the hydrogen‐bonding interaction and the mechanism of anion exchange sorption as well may contribute significantly to the retention mechanisms.     

<em>In Vitro</em> Anti-diabetic Activities and Chemical Analysis of Polypeptide-k and Oil Isolated from Seeds of <em>Momordica charantia</em> (Bitter Gourd)

The amino acid and fatty acid composition of polypeptide k and oil isolated from the seeds of Momordica charantia was analysed. The analysis revealed polypeptide k contained 9 out of 11 essential amino acids, among a total of 18 types of amino acids. Glutamic acid, aspartic acid, arginine and glycine were the most abundant (17.08%, 9.71%, 9.50% and 8.90% of total amino acids, respectively). Fatty acid analysis showed unusually high amounts of C18-0 (stearic acid, 62.31% of total fatty acid). C18-1 (oleic acid) and C18-2 (linoleic acid) were the other major fatty acid detected (12.53% and 10.40%, respectively). The oil was devoid of the short fatty acids (C4-0 to C8-0). Polypeptide k and oil were also subjected to in vitro α-glucosidase and α-amylase inhibition assays. Both polypeptide k and seed oil showed potent inhibition of α-glucosidase enzyme (79.18% and 53.55% inhibition, respectively). α-Amylase was inhibited by 35.58% and 38.02%, respectively. Collectively, the in vitro assay strongly suggests that both polypeptide k and seed oil from Momordica charantia are potent potential hypoglycemic agents.     

Über Rosmarin und Rosmarinsäure

Rosmarinic acid, a tan from Lamiaceae, is found in rosemary and many other plants such as thyme, painted nettle, savory, sage, oregano, or lemon balm, from which it has been isolated here. It is a caffeic acid ester and a chiral, aromatic natural product. Rosmarinic acid tastes bitter, which may be attractive for rosemary as spice. Due to the catechol subunit the acid is an antioxidant. Using rosmarinic acid as a cure is possible due to manyfold physiological effects which are still under investigation. The rosmarinic acid biosynthesis pathway was completely elucidated at the painted nettle. This led to attempts to produce the acid biotechnologically by plant cell cultures in high yields. The preparation of a spectroscopically pure sample is challenging. All analytical spectra were recorded and are reproduced and interpreted either in the main part or in the supporting information.     

Crystal structures of the “two” 4‐aminofurazan‐3‐carboxylic acids

The crystal structures of the two compounds reported to be 4‐aminofurazan‐3‐carboxylic acid have been determined. The compound reported by Sheremetev et al. (J Heterocycl Chem 2005, 42, 519) is the actual 4‐aminofurazan‐3‐carboxylic acid. The compound reported by Meyer (Org Prep Proced Int 2004, 36, 361) is the interesting complex formed from a molecule of the acid and a molecule of the potassium salt of the acid. J. Heterocyclic Chem., (2012).     

Reaction of Azidocarboxyethyl Alginic Acid with <Emphasis Type="Italic">N</Emphasis>-Nucleophiles

The acylating ability of azidocarboxyethyl alginic acid in reactions with benzylamine, aromatic amines, and carboxylic acid hydrazides has been studied.     

Preparative and scaled‐up separation of high‐purity α‐linolenic acid from perilla seed oil by conventional and pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography

α‐Linolenic acid is an essential omega‐3 fatty acid needed for human health. However, the isolation of high‐purity α‐linolenic acid from plant resources is challenging. The preparative separation methods of α‐linolenic acid by both conventional and pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography were firstly established in this work. The successful separation of α‐linolenic acid by conventional counter current chromatography was achieved by the optimized solvent system n‐heptane/methanol/ water/acetic acid (10:9:1:0.04, v/v), producing 466 mg of 98.98% α‐linolenic acid from 900 mg free fatty acid sample prepared from perilla seed oil with linoleic acid and oleic acid as by‐products. The scaled‐up separation in 45× is efficient without loss of resolution and extension of separation time. The separation of α‐linolenic acid by pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography was also satisfactory by the solvent system n‐hexane/methanol/water (10:5:5, v/v) and the optimized concentration of trifluoroacetic acid 30 mM and NH₄OH 10 mM. The separation can be scaled up in 180× producing 9676.7 mg of 92.79% α‐linolenic acid from 18 000 mg free fatty acid sample. pH‐zone refining counter current chromatography exhibits a great advantage over conventional counter current chromatography with 20× sample loading capacity on the same column.     

Preparation of 5,5′‐pyrilidene and 5,5′‐quinolidene bis‐barbituric acid derivatives

NMR reaction following experiments were used to find optimal conditions for the barbituric acid double addition to aromatic and heteroaromatic carboxaldehydes. It was established that aromatic aldehydes with electron‐donating substituents such as hydroxy, methoxy, and dimethylamino produce only the single addition barbituric acid adduct (barbituric acid benzylidenes). If these electron‐donating substituents are transformed into electron‐withdrawing substituents by virtue of protonation (NMe₂ to NHMe₂⁺) then the double barbituric acid adduct becomes the sole product of the reaction. This is also true regardless of the reaction media if strong electron‐withdrawing substituents (such as a nitro group) are present. Considering that the reactive species for nitrogen containing aromatic heterocycles are actually the conjugated acids (electron deficient molecule) only the double barbituric acid adducts are isolated. All synthetic procedures presented are applicable to multi‐gram scale preparations of double barbituric acid adducts.     

Chemical Composition of the Essential Oil of <Emphasis Type="Italic">Rhodiola quadrifida</Emphasis> from Xinjiang,China

The chemical composition of a hydrodistilled oil of Rhodiola quadrifida (Pall.) Fisch. et Mey. growing wild in Xinjiang Uygur Autonomous Region, China was analyzed by GC/MS. Twenty-three constituents were identified. The major components of the oil were hexadecanoic acid (45.39%), 9,12-octadecadienoic acid (33.38%), 9-hexadecenoic acid (3.08%), myristic acid (1.95%), a-terpineol (1.74%), and octadecanoic acid (1.07%). __________ Published in Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 4, pp. 337–338, July–August, 2005.     

Determination of the enantiomers of α‐hydroxy‐ and α‐amino acids in capillary electrophoresis with contactless conductivity detection

The enantiomers of the anions of five α‐hydroxy acids, namely lactic acid, α‐hydroxybutyric acid, 2‐hydroxycaproic acid, 2‐hydroxyoctanoic acid and 2‐hydroxydecanoic acid, as well as the two α‐amino acids aspartic acid and glutamic acid, were baseline separated and detected by CE with contactless conductivity detection. Vancomycin was employed as chiral selector and could be used with conductivity detection without having to resort to a partial filling protocol as needed when this reagent is used with UV absorbance measurements. The procedure was successfully applied to the determination of the lactic acid enantiomers in samples of milk and yogurt. Linearity was achieved in the concentration range of 10–500 μmol/L with good correlation coefficients (0.9993 and 0.9990 for L ‐ and D ‐lactic acid, respectively). The LODs (3 S/N) for L ‐ and D ‐lactic acid were determined as 2.8 and 2.4 μmol/L, respectively.     

2,4‐Di­methoxy­benzoic acid and 2,5‐di­methoxy­benzoic acid

The title compounds (both C₉H₁₀O₄) have nearly planar structures, and the methyl and/or carboxylic acid groups lie out of the molecular plane, as dictated by steric interactions. 2,5‐Di­methoxy­benzoic acid (2,5‐DMBA) forms an unusual intramolecular hydrogen bond between the carboxylic acid group and the O atom of the methoxy group in the 2‐position [O⋯O = 2.547 (2) Å and O—H⋯O = 154 (3)°]. 2,4‐DMBA forms a typical hydrogen‐bond dimer with a neighboring mol­ecule.     

Mesoporous SBA‐15 Silica Phenylsulfonic Acid (SBA‐15‐Ph‐SO3H) as Efficient Nanocatalyst for One‐pot Three‐component Synthesis of 3‐Methyl‐4‐aryl‐2,4,5,7‐tetrahydropyrazolo[3,4‐b]pyridine‐6‐ones

A simple, economical, and efficient approach to the one‐pot synthesis of 3‐methyl‐4‐aryl‐2,4,5,7‐tetrahydropyrazolo[3,4‐b]pyridine‐6‐ones by multicomponent assembling of 5‐methylpyrazol‐3‐amine, aldehydes, and Meldrum's acid using mesoporous silica phenylsulfonic acid (SBA‐15‐Ph‐SO₃H) as recyclable and heterogonous solid acid nanocatalyst has been described. This protocol has the advantages of high yields, wide application scope, and an environmental benign procedure.     

5‐Carboxymethyl‐2‐(4‐methylthiophenyl)‐1,3,2‐dioxaborolan‐4‐one: synthesis,characterization and application in enantioselective reduction of ketones

The reaction of arylboronic acids with L ‐O‐benzoyl‐tartaric acid and D ,L ‐malic acid has been studied. The obtained (acyloxy)boranes are moderately stable in solution and decompose to give boroxines. 5‐Carboxymethyl‐2‐(4‐methylthiophenyl)‐1,3,2‐dioxaborolan‐4‐one was obtained in the reaction of 4‐methylthiophenylboronic acid with D ,L ‐malic acid and characterized by X‐ray structural analysis. The use of L ‐(−)‐malic acid afforded the optically pure product which can be used as the powerful chiral reagent in the enantioselective reduction of ketones. Copyright © 2011 John Wiley & Sons, Ltd.