Chemical modification of britanin and of inuchenolide C

Analogs of helenalin possessing a broad spectrum of biological activity have been synthesized from the readily available sesquiterpene lactones britanin and inuchenolide C. Conditions for the hydrolysis, oxidative transformations, and skeletal rearrangements of the pseudoguaianolides that are characteristic for plants of the genus hula have been studied.Institute of Phytochemistry, Karaganda, fax (3212) 51 10 23. Translated from Khimiya Prirodnykh Soedinenii, No. 5, pp. 712–722, September–October, 1996. Original article submitted April 1, 1996.