Thujaplicin

Thujaplicin (isopropyl cycloheptatrienolone) is any of three isomeric tropolone-related natural products that have been isolated from the softwoods of the trees of Cupressaceae family. These compounds are known for their antibacterial, antifungal, and antioxidant properties. They were the first natural tropolones to be made synthetically.

Thujaplicins were discovered in the mid-1930s and purified from the heartwood of Thuja plicata Donn ex D. Don, commonly called as Western red cedar tree. These compounds were also identified in the constituents of Chamaecyparis obtusa, another species from the Cupressaceae family. C. obtusa is native to East Asian countries including Japan and Taiwan, and is also known as Taiwan hinoki, from which the β-thujaplicin was first isolated in 1936 and received its name, hinokitiol. Thujaplicins were the first natural tropolones to be made synthetically, by Ralph Raphael and colleagues, and the β-thujaplicin was the first non-benzenoid aromatic compound identified, by Tetsuo Nozoe and colleagues. The resistance of the heartwood of the tree to decay was the main reason prompting to investigate its content and identify the compounds responsible for antimicrobial properties. β-thujaplicin gained more scientific interest beginning in the 2000s. Later, iron-binding activity of β-thujaplicin was discovered and the molecule has been ironically nicknamed as “Iron Man molecule”, because the first name of Tetsuo Nozoe can be translated into English as “Iron Man”.

Tjujaplicins are found in the heartwood of the conifer trees belonging to the Cupressaceae family, including Chamaecyparis obtusa (Hinoki cypress), Thuja plicata (Western red cedar), Thujopsis dolabrata var. hondai (Hinoki asunaro), Juniperus cedrus (Canary Islands juniper), Cedrus atlantica (Atlas cedar), Cupressus lusitanica (Mexican white cedar), Chamaecyparis lawsoniana (Port Orford cedar), Chamaecyparis taiwanensis (Taiwan cypress), Chamaecyparis thyoides (Atlantic white cedar), Cupressus arizonica (Arizona cypress), Cupressus macnabiana (MacNab cypress), Cupressus macrocarpa (Monterey cypress), Juniperus chinensis (Chinese juniper), Juniperus communis (Common juniper), Juniperus californica (California juniper), Juniperus occidentalis (Western juniper), Juniperus oxycedrus (Cade), Juniperus sabina (Savin juniper), Calocedrus decurrens (California incense-cedar), Calocedrus formosana (Taiwan incense-cedar), Platycladus orientalis (Chinese thuja), Thuja occidentalis (Northern white-cedar), Thuja standishii (Japanese thuja), Tetraclinis articulata (Sandarac).

Thujaplicins can be produced in plant cell suspension cultures, or can be extracted from wood using solvents and ultrasonication.

Thujaplicins can be synthesized by cycloaddition of isopropylcyclopentadiene and dichloroketene, 1,3-dipolar cycloaddition of 5-isopropyl-1-methyl-3-oxidopyridinium, ring expansion of 2-isopropylcyclohexanone, regiocontrolled hydroxylation of oxyallyl (4+3) cycloadducts, from (R)-(+)-limonene regioselectively by several steps, and from troponeirontricarbonyl complex by few steps. The synthesis pathway of β-thujaplicin from troponeirontricarbonyl complex is found below:

The synthesis pathway of β-thujaplicin by electro-reductive alkylation of substituted cycloheptatrienes is shown below:

The synthesis pathway of β-thujaplicin through ring expansion of 2-isopropylcyclohexanone is shown below:

The synthesis pathway of β-thujaplicin through oxyallyl cation [4+3] cyclization (Noyori's synthesis) is shown below: