Natural Product Chemistry

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Professor

Yoshiyasu Fukuyama

ext 5911
Assistant Professor Tomoyuki Esumi ext 5912

Research Associate

Hironobu Takahashi

ext 5913

　Research Projects

1)

Studies on Plant Derived Biologically Active Compounds

2)

Synthesis of Biologically Active Natural Products

3)

Environmental Chemistry

4)

Plant Cell Cultures

Plants and microorganisms producing natural products remain one of the few sources of drug discovery, yielding unorthodox and often unexpected chemical structures. Most biologically active natural products are unlikely to be clinically useful drugs in their own rights but rather than serve as a chemical clue which, using synthetic and molecular biological ways, can lead to new series for drug studies. From this point of view, our group has been engaged in chemical studies on biologically active natural products as follows.

  1. Search for neurotrophic natural products and studies on their own mechanism by using primary neuronal cultures
  2. Search for antioxidative compounds and development of HRP catalyzed oxidative coupling to synthesis of natural products
  3. Synthesis of Biologically active natural products by using palladium catalyzed reactions
  4. Synthesis of 5-Lipoxygenase Inhibitors, ardisiaquinones
  5. Search for biologically active natural products based on the lethal activity of brine shrimp
  6. Effect of Natural Products on "Kawanina" (Semiaulcospira bensoni) Living in River
  7. Prodctuion and biotranformation of biologically active natural products by plant cell cultures

Recent Selected Publications

1)

Three Novel Sesquiterpenes from the Pericarps of Illicium merrillianum. Jian-mei Huang, Y. Fukuyama, F Tanaka, H. Minami, C.-S. Yang, Chem. Pharm. Bull., 48, (5), 657-659 (2000).

2)

Neovibsanin C, a Macrocyclic Peroxide-containing Neovibsane-type Diterpene from Viburnum awabuki. M. Kubo, H. Minami, M. Kodama, K. Kawazu,ﾊ Y. Fukuyama, Tetrahedron Letters, 40, (34) 6261-6265 (1999).

3)

Convenient Syntheses of Neurotrophic Americanol A and Isoamericanol A by HRP Catalyzed Oxidative Coupling of Caffeic Acid. K. Matsumoto, H. Takahashi, Y. Miyake, and Y. Fukuyama, Tetrahedron Lett., 40, 3185 (1999).

4)

Total Synthesis of Plagiochin D, A Macrocyclic Bis(bibenzyl) from Liverworts by Intramolecular Still-Kelly Reaction. Y. Fukuyama, H. Yaso, K. Nakamura, and M. Kodama, Tetrahedron Lett., 40, 105 (1999).

5)

An Example of the Co-Occurrence of Enantiomeric Labdane-Type Diterpenes in the Leaves of Mimosa hostilis. Y. Fukuyama, R. Yokoyama, A. Ohsaki, H. Takahashi, and H. Minami, Chem. Pharm. Bull., 47, 454 (1999).

6)

Aldovibsanins, Enol Ester Free Vibsane-Type Diterpenes from Viburnum Odoratissimum. M. Kubo, I-S. Chen, H. Minami, and Y. Fukuyama, Chem. Pharm. Bull., 47, 295 (1999).