Uses OF Alkynes In Nature And Medicine
Alkynes in nature and medicine
According to Ferdinand
Bohlmann, the first naturally occurring acetylenic compound, dehydromatricaria
ester, was isolated from anArtemisia species in 1826
. Polyynes, a subset of
this class of natural products, have been isolated from a wide variety of plant
species, cultures of higher fungi, bacteria, marine sponges, and corals.
Some acids like tariric
acid contains an alkyne group.
Diynes and triynes, species with the linkage RC≡C-C≡CR' and RC≡C-C≡C-C≡CR' respectively, occur in certain plants (Ichthyothere,Chrysanthemum, Cicuta, Oenanthe and other members of the Asteraceae and Apiaceae families).
Some examples are cicutoxin,oenanthotoxin, falcarinol and carotatoxin. These compounds are highly bioactive, e.g. as nematocides. 1-Phenylhepta-1,3,5-triyne is illustrative of a
naturally occurring triyne.
Alkynes occur in some
pharmaceuticals, including the contraceptive norethynodrel.
A carbon–carbon triple bond is also present in
marketed drugs such as the antiretroviral Efavirenz and the antifungal Terbinafine.
Molecules called ene-diynes feature a ring
containing an alkene ("ene") between two alkyne groups
("diyne").
These compounds,
e.g. calicheamicin,
are some of the most aggressive antitumor drugs known, so much so that the
ene-diyne subunit is sometimes referred to as a "warhead."
Ene-diynes undergo
rearrangement via the Bergman cyclization, generating highly reactive radical intermediates
that attack DNA within the tumor
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