Antiherbivore prenylated benzoic acid derivatives from Piper kelleyi

J Nat Prod. 2014 Jan 24;77(1):148-53. doi: 10.1021/np400886s. Epub 2014 Jan 14.

Abstract

The known prenylated benzoic acid derivative 3-geranyl-4-hydroxy-5-(3″,3″-dimethylallyl)benzoic acid (1) and two new chromane natural products were isolated from the methanolic extract of the leaves of Piper kelleyi Tepe (Piperaceae), a midcanopy tropical shrub that grows in lower montane rain forests in Ecuador and Peru. Structure determination using 1D and 2D NMR analysis led to the structure of the chromene 2 and to the reassignment of the structure of cumanensic acid as 4, an isomeric chromene previously isolated from Piper gaudichaudianum. The structure and relative configuration of new chromane 3 was determined using 1D and 2D NMR spectroscopic analysis and was found to be racemic by ECD spectropolarimetry. The biological activity of 1-3 was evaluated against a lab colony of the generalist caterpillar Spodoptera exigua (Noctuidae), and low concentrations of 2 and 3 were found to significantly reduce fitness. Further consideration of the biosynthetic relationship of the three compounds led to the proposal that 1 is converted to 2 via an oxidative process, whereas 3 is produced through hetero-[4+2] dimerization of a quinone methide derived from the chromene 2.

Publication types

  • Research Support, Non-U.S. Gov't
  • Research Support, U.S. Gov't, Non-P.H.S.

MeSH terms

  • Benzoates / chemistry
  • Benzoates / isolation & purification*
  • Benzoates / pharmacology*
  • Benzopyrans / chemistry
  • Benzopyrans / isolation & purification*
  • Benzopyrans / pharmacology*
  • Ecuador
  • Herbivory / physiology*
  • Molecular Structure
  • Nuclear Magnetic Resonance, Biomolecular
  • Peru
  • Piper / chemistry*
  • Plant Leaves / chemistry
  • Prenylation

Substances

  • Benzoates
  • Benzopyrans