Time-dependant density functional theory-electronic circular dichroism spectra prediction was carried out to study the absolute configuration of phyllanthidine-type derivatives 5 and 6, derived from securinine (1) and its enantiomer virosecurinine (2), respectively. This method demonstrated to be very reliable in this alkaloid series. Thus, 5 and 6 shared the same stereochemistry as their parent precursors, confirming the retentive nature of the oxidation sequence. In addition, this study highlighted the key role of the methylene bridge (BC ring) in the chiroptical activity of these compounds. These results fully clarified the stereochemical relationships between the phyllanthidine and the securinine subgroups.
Keywords: TDDFT-ECD; X-ray crystallography; absolute configuration; phyllanthidine; securinine.