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{"id":1211,"date":"2013-12-12T03:46:07","date_gmt":"2013-12-12T03:46:07","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/amcrasto.theeurekamoments.com\/?p=1211"},"modified":"2014-01-05T04:48:15","modified_gmt":"2014-01-05T04:48:15","slug":"synthesis-of-azadirachtin","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/amcrasto.theeurekamoments.com\/2013\/12\/12\/synthesis-of-azadirachtin\/","title":{"rendered":"Synthesis of Azadirachtin"},"content":{"rendered":"
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<\/h1>\n

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Azadirachtin<\/p>\n

11141-17-6<\/a>\u00a0 cas no<\/p>\n

Azadirachtin<\/b>, a\u00a0chemical<\/a>\u00a0compound belonging to the\u00a0limonoid<\/a>\u00a0group, is asecondary metabolite<\/a>\u00a0present in\u00a0neem<\/a>\u00a0seeds. It is a highly oxidizedtetranortriterpenoid<\/a>\u00a0which boasts a plethora of oxygen functionality, comprising an\u00a0enol ether<\/a>, acetal,\u00a0hemiacetal<\/a>, and tetra-substituted\u00a0oxirane<\/a>\u00a0as well as a variety of\u00a0carboxylic esters<\/a>.<\/p>\n

This compound is a tetraterpenoid characteristic of the Meliaceae family but particularly from the Neem tree (A.<\/em>\u00a0indica<\/em>), indigenous to India. The compound is found in bark, leaves and fruits of the tree but seeds have the highest concentration. This compound has not yet been synthesized in the laboratory, but when isolated and tested pure the results have been less than when extracts are used.\u00a0 In the extract 18 compounds have been identified among which salanine, meliantrol and azadiractin are most prominent, the latter being in the highest concentration. Azadirachtin shows antifeedant activity, is a growth regulator, inhibits oviposition and is also a sterilizing compound. Today, commercial formulations of neem may be found with names like Neem Gold, Neemazal, Econeem, Neemark, Neemcure and Azatin among others, in many countries including the United States, India, Germany and several Latin American countries.<\/p>\n

Azadirachtin has a complex molecular structure, and as a result the first synthesis was not published for over 22 years after the compound’s discovery. The first total synthesis was completed by\u00a0Steven Ley<\/a>\u00a0in 2007.[1]<\/a><\/sup>[2]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Both secondary and tertiary hydroxyl groups and\u00a0tetrahydrofuran<\/a>\u00a0ether are present and the\u00a0molecular structure<\/a>\u00a0reveals 16 stereogenic centres, 7 of which are tetrasubstituted. These characteristics explain the great difficulty encountered when trying to produce it by a synthetic approach. The described synthesis was actually a relay approach, with the heavily functionalized\u00a0decalin<\/a>\u00a0being made by total synthesis in a small scale but also being derived from the natural product itself for the purpose of obtaining gram amounts of the material to complete the synthesis.<\/p>\n

\"Azadirachtin\"<\/p>\n

“I would rank this as being one of the very toughest syntheses so far reported.”<\/strong>
\n– Steven Ley, University of Cambridge, UK,\u00a01 G E Veitch et al, Angewandte Chemie, 2007, DOIs: 10.1002\/anie.200703027 and 10.1002\/anie.200703028
\n2 M L Maddess et al, Angewandte Chemie, 2006,\u00a046<\/strong>, 591 (DOI: 10.1002\/anie.200604053)<\/p>\n

 <\/p>\n

IT TOOK 22 YEARS<\/strong>\u00a0and the efforts of more than 40 chemists, but\u00a0Steven V. Ley<\/a>‘s group has finally managed to complete a 64-step synthesis of azadirachtin, a naturally occurring insecticide (Angew. Chem. Int. Ed.,<\/em>\u00a0DOI:10.1002\/anie.200703027<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a010.1002\/anie.200703028<\/a>).<\/p>\n

\"\"<\/div>\n

Isolated from the Indian neem tree Azadirachta indica, azadirachtin possesses a small but densely functionalized architecture. It has 16 stereogenic centers, seven of which are tetrasubstituted, and a diverse array of oxygenated functionalities.<\/p>\n

“This has been a tough project from start to finish, as the molecule is so prone to rearrangement under acidic, basic, or photolytic conditions,” says Ley, a chemistry professor at England’s Cambridge University. “It has forced us to be inventive.”<\/p>\n

Of the many hurdles the researchers had to overcome, Ley reckons the most challenging was coupling the molecule’s two main fragments. After years of attempts at this convergent approach, the group was finally able to marry these two fragments by means of a propargylic enol ether Claisen reaction. The next step, a radical-induced cyclization, elegantly constructed one sterically dense portion of the molecule.<\/p>\n

“Making a molecule such as this is not an Everest-climbing exercise; it’s about what you learn from the experience,” Ley says. “We can be proud of the new methods and solutions to the tough problems we have encountered, and now we have the tools and procedures to really work out how this molecule functions biologically.”<\/p>\n

Amos B. Smith III<\/a>, a chemistry professor at the University of Pennsylvania, calls the work “an outstanding achievement, further demonstrating Ley and colleagues as superb tacticians in the art of complex-molecule total synthesis.”<\/p>\n

Smith adds: “More important than the actual conquest is the exciting new chemistry that has emanated over the past 22 years from the Ley and other laboratories who have participated in this monumental challenge. Clearly, the science of synthesis is the winner.”<\/p>\n

It was initially found to be active as a feeding inhibitor towards the\u00a0<\/span>desert locust<\/a>(<\/span>Schistocerca gregaria<\/i>),<\/span>[3]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0it is now known to affect over 200 species of\u00a0<\/span>insect<\/a>, by acting mainly as an antifeedant and growth disruptor, and as such it possesses considerable toxicity toward insects (LD<\/span>50<\/sub>(<\/span>S. littoralis<\/i>): 15 \u03bcg\/g). It fulfills many of the criteria needed for a natural\u00a0<\/span>insecticide<\/a>\u00a0if it is to replace synthetic compounds. Azadirachtin is\u00a0<\/span>biodegradable<\/a>\u00a0(it degrades within 100 hours when exposed to light and water) and shows very low\u00a0<\/span>toxicity<\/a>\u00a0to\u00a0<\/span>mammals<\/a>(the\u00a0<\/span>LD50<\/sub><\/a>\u00a0in rats is > 3,540\u00a0mg\/kg making it practically non-toxic).<\/span><\/h2>\n

This compound is found in the seeds (0.2 to 0.8 percent by weight) of the\u00a0neem<\/a>tree,\u00a0Azadirachta indica<\/a><\/i>\u00a0(hence the prefix aza does not imply an\u00a0aza compound<\/a>, but refers to the\u00a0scientific<\/a>\u00a0species name). Many more compounds, related to azadirachtin, are present in the seeds as well as in the leaves and the bark of the neem tree which also show strong biological activities among various pest insects\u00a0[4]<\/a><\/sup>[5]<\/a><\/sup>\u00a0Effects of these preparations on beneficial arthropods are generally considered to be minimal. Some laboratory and field studies have found neem extracts to be compatible with biological control. Because pure neem oil contains other insecticidal and fungicidal compounds in additional to azadirachtin, it is generally mixed at a rate of 1 ounce per gallon (7.8 ml\/l) of water when used as a pesticide.<\/p>\n

Azadirachtin is formed via an elaborate biosynthetic pathway, but is believed that the steroid\u00a0<\/span>tirucallol<\/a>\u00a0is the precursor to the neem\u00a0<\/span>triterpenoid<\/a>\u00a0secondary metabolites. Tirucallol is formed from two units of\u00a0<\/span>farnesyl diphosphate<\/a>\u00a0(FPP) to form a C<\/span>30<\/sub>\u00a0triterpene, but then loses three methyl groups to become a C<\/span>27<\/sub>steroid. Tirucallol undergoes an allylic isomerization to form\u00a0<\/span>butyrospermol<\/a>, which is then oxidized. The oxidized butyrospermol subsequently rearranges via a\u00a0<\/span>Wagner-Meerwein 1,2-methyl shift<\/a>\u00a0to form apotirucallol.<\/span><\/h2>\n

Apotirucallol becomes a tetranortriterpenoid when the four terminal carbons from the side chain are cleaved off. The remaining carbons on the side chain cyclize to form a\u00a0furan<\/a>\u00a0ring and the molecule is oxidized further to form azadirone and azadiradione. The third ring is then opened and oxidized to form the C-seco-limonoids such as\u00a0nimbin<\/a>,\u00a0nimbidinin<\/a>\u00a0and\u00a0salannin<\/a>, which has been\u00a0esterified<\/a>\u00a0with a molecule of\u00a0tiglic acid<\/a>, which is derived from\u00a0L-isoleucine<\/a>. It is currently proposed that the target molecule is arrived at by biosynthetically converting azadirone into salanin, which is then heavily oxidized and cyclized to reach azadirachtin.<\/p>\n

\"\"
\nAzadirachtin ball and stick view<\/p>\n

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    \n
  1. \u00a0Veitch GE, Beckmann E, Burke BJ, Boyer A, Maslen SL, Ley SV (2007). “Synthesis of azadirachtin: a long but successful journey”.\u00a0Angew. Chem. Int. Ed. Engl.<\/i>\u00a046<\/b>\u00a0(40): 7629\u201332.doi<\/a>:10.1002\/anie.200703027<\/a>.\u00a0PMID<\/a>\u00a017665403<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  2. \u00a0Sanderson K (August 2007). “Chemists synthesize a natural-born killer”.\u00a0Nature<\/i>\u00a0448<\/b>\u00a0(7154): 630\u20131.\u00a0doi<\/a>:10.1038\/448630a<\/a>.PMID<\/a>\u00a017687288<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  3. \u00a0Butterworth, J; Morgan, E (1968). “Isolation of a Substance that suppresses Feeding in Locusts”.\u00a0Chemical Communications (London)<\/i>\u00a0(1): 23.doi<\/a>:10.1039\/C19680000023<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  4. \u00a0Senthil-Nathan, S., Kalaivani, K., Murugan, K., Chung, G. (2005). “The toxicity and physiological effect of neem limonoids on Cnaphalocrocis medinalis (Guen\u00e9e) the rice leaffolder”.Pesticide Biochemistry and Physiology<\/i>\u00a081<\/b>\u00a0(2): 113.doi<\/a>:10.1016\/j.pestbp.2004.10.004<\/a>.<\/li>\n
  5. Senthil-Nathan, S., Kalaivani, K., Murugan, K., Chung, P.G. (2005). “Effects of neem limonoids on malarial vector Anopheles stephensi Liston (Diptera: Culicidae)”.\u00a0Acta Tropica<\/i>96<\/b>\u00a0(1): 47.\u00a0doi<\/a>:10.1016\/j.actatropica.2005.07.002<\/a>.PMID<\/a>\u00a016112073<\/a>.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n<\/div>\n