Determination of the ‘starter’ acetate unit in the biosynthesis of pinidine

✍ Scribed by Edward Leete; John C. Lechleiter; Richard A. Carver

• Publisher: Elsevier Science
• Year: 1975
• Tongue: French
• Weight: 181 KB
• Volume: 16
• Category: Article
• ISSN: 0040-4039
• DOI: 10.1016/s0040-4039(00)91271-1

✦ Synopsis

The alkaloid pinidine ( 2) is acetate-derived, the administration of [l-%]acetate to Pinus jeffreyi plants affording pinidine which is labelled equally on alternate carbons 2. It is presumed that the alkaloid is formed from a Cl0 poly-B-keto acid (l_) produced by the condensation of a 'starter' acetyl-coenzyme A unit with subsequent units of malonyl-coenzyme A. This hypothetical intermediate can then yield pinidine by two alternate routes. In route A, 3,7-dioxodecanoic acid (3 or its decarboxylation product: 2,6-nonadione (5) are plausible intermediates. In route B, 5,9-dioxodecanoic acid (i) is the suggested intermediate. We have recently