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By means of docking studies, seventeen compounds T.1-T17 have been designed and evaluated as multitarget inhibitors of VEGFR-2 and PD-L1 proteins in order to overcome resistance phenomena offered by cancer. All these designed molecules display a urea moiety as a common structural feature and eight of them (T.1-T8) further contain a 1,2,3-triazol moiety. The antiproliferative activity of these molecules on several tumor cell lines (HT-29, MCF-7, HeLa, A549, HL-60), on the endothelial cell line HMEC-1 and on the non-tumor cell line HEK-293 has been determined. The urea derivatives were also evaluated for their antiangiogenic properties, whereby their ability to inhibit tubulogenesis and kinase activity employing flow cytometry, ELISA, immunofluorescence and western blot techniques was measured. In addition, these techniques were also employed to investigate the immunomodulator action of the synthetic compounds on the inhibition of PD-L1 and c-Myc proteins. Compound T.2, 1-(3-chlorophenyl)-3-(2-(4-(4-methoxybenzyl)-1H-1,2,3-triazol-1-yl)ethyl)urea, has shown similar results to sorafenib in both down-regulation of VEGFR-2 and inhibition of the kinase activity of this receptor. Furthermore, compound T.14, (E)-1-(4-chlorophenyl)-3-(3-(4-methoxystyryl)phenyl)urea, improves the effect of T.2 as regards tube formation of endothelial cells and inhibition of VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase activity. In addition, T.14 improves the effect of the experimental drug BMS-8 in the inhibition of PD-L1 and c-Myc proteins.

Twenty-six compounds derived from 3′-aminocombretastatin A-4 (AmCA-4) containing a urea fragment mimicking the structure of Sorafenib, have been synthesized and evaluated as antiangiogenic compounds. Antiproliferative activity of all the synthetic ureas has been measured on tumor cell lines HT-29, MCF-7, HeLa, A-549 and HL-60 as well as on the endothelial cell line HMEC-1 and on the non-tumor cell line HEK-293. Preliminary docking studies were developed in order to predict which ureas show better interactions with the protein VEGFR-2. Then, the selected derivatives were evaluated in terms of their apoptotic effect and antiangiogenic properties. In this regard, VEGFR-2/ligand interactions were determined by flow cytometry and immunofluorescence techniques. Inhibition of VEGFR-2 tyrosine kinase activity in both the A-549 and HMEC-1 cell lines was also carried out. In addition, tube formation inhibition was studied in endothelial cells. Ortho-chloro substituted urea 5 and ortho-bromo substituted urea 8 were the most active ones in both down-regulation of VEGFR-2 and inhibition of the kinase activity of this receptor, with better results than those obtained with sunitinib and sorafenib.

11 p.-9 fig.-4 tab., Background: Six N-acyl derivatives of aminocombretastatin A-4 have been synthesized and evaluated according to their interaction with tubulin and as c-Myc downregulators., Aims: In search of new promising anti-cancer agents., Objective: This study is focused on the synthesis and the biological evaluation of N-acyl derivatives of aminocombretastatin A-4 (CA-4). Docking studies were carried out to find out whether the synthetic derivatives could bind to tubulin at the colchicine site in a conformation similar to that of CA- 4. The synthetic derivatives' effect on the proliferation of several cancer cells and non-cancer cells has been measured. Their effect on tubulin polymerization, cell cycle distribution, the microtubule network and c-Myc expression has also been evaluated., Methods: A set of six N-acyl derivatives was achieved by means of a peptide-type coupling of aminocombretastatin A-4 and the corresponding carboxylic acid. The synthetic compounds' ability to inhibit cell proliferation was measured by MTT assay against three human carcinoma cell lines (colorectal HT-29, lung A549, and breast adenocarcinoma MCF-7) and one non-tumor cell line (HEK- 293). Turbidimetry time-course measurements evaluated the inhibition of tubulin polymerization. The action of the synthetic derivatives on cell cycle distribution was measured by flow cytometry and their effects on the microtubule network were determined by immunofluorescence microscopy. Finally, the downregulation of the synthetic derivatives on c-Myc protein was quantified by ELISA assay, while the effect on c-Myc gene was measured by RT-qPCR analysis., Results: Derivatives bearing pentanoyl (compound 2), hexanoyl (compound 3), and heptanoyl (compound 4) side chains show anti-proliferative activities on the HT-29 line in the low nanomolar range, with values similar to that exhibited by AmCA-4 but far exceeding those of CA-4. Compounds 1 (butanoyl side chain) and 2-3 inhibit tubulin polymerization in vitro in a manner similar to that of CA-4 and AmCA-4 whereas compounds 4, 5 (octanoyl side chain) and 6 (dodecanoyl side chain) may be considered as partial inhibitors of tubulin polymerization. While all derivatives are able to accumulate cells in G2/M phase, compounds with the longest acyl chains (5 and 6) are the least active ones in this particular action. Moreover, compounds 2-3 were the most active ones as c-Myc downregulators., Conclusion: Our studies show that the most active compounds in the disruption of the microtubule network are also the most potent ones in the downregulation of c-Myc expression. Other: Compounds 2 and 3 are good candidates for in vivo studies as they combine the best antimitotic and c-Myc downregulation activities at low doses., This research has been funded by the Spanish Ministerio de Economia y Competitividad (project CTQ2014-52949-P) by the Spanish Ministerio de Ciencia, Innovación y Universidades (project RTI2018-097345-B-I00) and by Jaume I University (project UJI-B2018-38).

Natural product combretastatin A-4 (CA-4) and its nitrogenated analogue 3&prime, aminocombretastatin A-4 (AmCA-4) have shown promising antitumor activities. In this study, a range of CA-4 and AmCA-4 derivatives containing amino acid pendants have been synthesized in order to compare their biological actions with those of their parent compounds. Thus, inhibition of cell proliferation on tumor cell lines HT-29, MCF-7 and A-549, as well as on the nontumor cell line HEK-273, in vitro tubulin polymerization, mitotic cell arrest, action on the microtubule cell network and inhibition of VEGF, hTERT, and c-Myc genes have been evaluated. Some AmCA-4 derivatives bearing L-amino acids exhibited inhibition of cell proliferation at low nanomolar levels exceeding the values shown by AmCA-4. Furthermore, while CA-4 and AmCA-4 derivatives do not show significant effects on the in vitro tubulin polymerization and cell cycle arrest, some selected CA-4 and AmCA-4 derivatives are able to cause total depolymerization of the microtubule network on A-549 cells. The best results were obtained in the inhibition of gene expression, particularly on the VEGF gene, in which some AmCA-4 derivatives greatly exceeded the inhibition values achieved by the parent compound.

Several tricyclic compounds inspired by the structure of combretastatin A-4 and bearing group 14 elements have been synthesized by homocoupling lithiated aryl fragments followed by ring-closing metathesis. These tricyclic compounds and their diolefin precursors were evaluated for their antiproliferative action on the tumor cell lines HT-29, MCF-7, HeLa and A-549 and on the non-tumor cell line HEK-293. In addition, their effects on the cell cycle were also measured. The tricyclic compounds show antiproliferative activity similar to that of combretastatin A-4, even though they are not so active in arresting the cell cycle. However, some diolefin precursors are able to cause accumulation of cells in the G2/M phase in a higher percentage than combretastatin A-4 itself. Inhibition of endothelial tube formation and VEGFR-2 phosphorylation of some selected compounds is comparable to that of combretastatin A-4, particularly those of tin-containing compounds 23c and 26c, whose actions exceed those of sorafenib, a clinically used VEGFR-2 inhibitor.

A group of 21 nitrogen-containing heterocyclic stilbene derivatives, prepared by means of Heck coupling reactions, has been investigated for their cytotoxicity as well as their ability to inhibit the production of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the activation of telomerase. The ability of these compounds to inhibit proliferation of two tumoral cell lines (HT-29 and MCF-7) and one non-tumoral cell line (HEK-293) was first determined. Subsequently, we determined the capacity of the compounds to inhibit the secretion of VEGF in the aforementioned cell lines and downregulate the expression of the VEGF, hTERT and c-Myc genes, of which the latter two are involved in controlling the activation of telomerase. Financial support has been granted by the Spanish Government (MINECO, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, project CTQ2011-27560), the Consellería d'Empresa, Universitat i Ciencia de la Generalitat Valenciana (projects PROMETEO/2013/027 and ACOMP/2014/272) and the Universitat Jaume I (PI-1B-2011-37). R. M.-C. thanks the Universitat Jaume I for a pre-doctoral fellowship.

Several colchicine analogues in which the N-acetyl residue has been replaced by haloacetyl, cyclohexylacetyl, phenylacetyl and various aroyl moieties have been synthesized. The cytotoxic activities of the synthesized compounds have been measured on three tumor cell lines (HT-29, MCF-7 and A549) and on one non-tumor cell line (HEK-293). These compounds exhibit high antiproliferative activities at the nanomolar level, in many cases with a higher potency than colchicine itself. Some of the compounds, particularly the haloacetyl derivatives, inhibit the polymerization of tubulin in a similar manner as colchicine. As regards the cell cycle, the most active compounds are the chlorobenzoyl and bromobenzoyl derivatives, which cause cell cycle arrest at the G2/M phase when tested at 20 nM, and the bromoacetyl derivative, which arrests the cell cycle at 15 nM. In addition, these colchicine derivatives have shown fairly active downregulating the expression of the c-Myc, hTERT and VEGF genes, as well as VEGF protein secretion, at very low concentrations.

A series of t wenty-six carbamates derived from aminocombretastatin A- 4 (AmCA-4 ) were syn thesized and evaluated for their capacity to affect cell proliferation, tubulin polymerization, mitotic cell arrest, microtubule network organization, apoptos is and endothelial tubular structures in vitro. The anti- pro liferative activity of the synthetic carbamates was measured on several human tumor cell lines (i.e. HT-29, MCF-7, HeLa, A-549, MDA-MB-231, H L-60) as well as on the endothelial cell line HMEC-1 and the non-tumor cell line H EK-293. The compounds showed anti-proliferative activity in the nanomolar range thereby exceeding by far the activity of combretastatin A-4 (CA-4 ) and, in some cases, the activity of AmCA-4. The most active compounds proved to be the carbamates bearing chloro, bromo or methoxy groups in the meta position of the phenyl ring. Moreover, all carbamates inhibited in vitro tubulin polymerization, in a similar manne r to that of CA-4 and Am CA-4 by interacting with the colchicine binding site in tubulin. The synthetic carbamates proved as active as AmCA-4 in causing mitotic arrest, as asses sed in A549 human lung cancer cells, and disruption of the microtubule ce llular network. Some selected carbamates induced apoptosis at concentrations as low as 10 nM, being more active than AmCA-4. Final ly, these selected carbamates displayed a vascular disrupting activity on endothelial cells in a dose-dependent manner. In conclusion, our data indicate that carbamates derived from aminocombretastatin A-4 represent interesting lead compounds for the design of vascular dis- rupting agents

The preparation of several new analogues of the natural dihydropyrone pironetin is described. They differ from the natural product mainly in the nature of the side chain and the lactone ring. Their cytotoxic activity has been measured. In addition, their interaction with tubulin, their ability to inhibit the secretion of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and the expression of angiogenesis and telomeraserelated genes have been determined. Unexpectedly, and unlike pironetin, the lactones studied in this work do not interact with tubulin. Two of the compounds have been found to downregulate the expression of the hTERT and VEGF genes. Furthermore, one of them causes an appreciably decrease in the secretion of the VEGF protein.

As part of our medicinal chemistry program’s ongoing search for compounds with antimalarial activity, we prepared a series of thiazole analogs and conducted a SAR study analyzing their in vitro activities against the chloroquine-sensitive Plasmodium falciparum 3D7 strain. The results indicate that modifications of the N-aryl amide group linked to the thiazole ring are the most significant in terms of in vitro antimalarial activity, leading to compounds with high antimalarial potency and low cytotoxicity in HepG2 cell lines. Furthermore, the observed SAR implies that non-bulky, electron-withdrawing groups are preferred at ortho position on the phenyl ring, whereas small atoms such as H or F are preferred at para position. Finally, replacement of the phenyl ring by a pyridine affords a compound with similar potency, but with potentially better physicochemical properties which could constitute a new line of research for further studies. M.C., A.C.C., J.A.M., N.R. and J.F.S.-C. thank the Ministerio de Ciencia e Innovación of Spain (research grant CTQ2011-27560) and the Consellería d’Educació, Investigació, Cultura i Esport de la Generalitat Valenciana (research grant PROMETEO/2013/027) for financial support.

8 páginas, 4 figuras, 1 tabla, 2 esquemas -- PAGS nros. 1630-1637, The preparation of a series of pironetin analogues with simplified structure is described. Their cytotoxic activity and their interactions with tubulin have been investigated. It has been found that, while less active than the parent molecule, the pironetin analogues still share the mechanism of action of the latter and compete for the same binding site to α-tubulin. Variations in the configurations of their stereocenters do not translate into relevant differences between biological activities, Financial support has been granted by the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (CTQ2008-02800), by the Consellería d'Empresa, Universitat i Ciencia de la Generalitat Valenciana (ACOMP09/113) and by the BANCAJA-UJI Foundation (P1-1B2002-06 and P1-1B-2008-14). The biological work has been supported in part by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (BIO2007-61336 and BIO2010-16351) and from the Comunidad de Madrid (BIPPED-CM) (both to J.F.D.)

Stereoselective syntheses of the naturally occurring glycosidase inhibitors hyacinthacines A2 and A3 are reported. In the case of hyacinthacine A2, the pyrrolizidine system was created from an acyclic precursor via a double cyclization procedure with a one-pot formation of two C–N bonds. In the case of hyacinthacine A3, the two C–N bonds were created in separate steps. In addition, the non-natural epimer at C-5 of hyacinthacine A3 was obtained.

A small group of hybrid molecules composed of a colchicine moiety and a pironetin analogue fragment have been investigated for their ability to inhibit the expression of the VEGF, hTERT and c-Myc genes. The VEGF gene is involved in the generation of the vascular endothelial growth factor (VEGF) and thus in the angiogenic process whereas the two latter ones are related to the activation of telomerase. All three genes therefore may be of paramount importance in the cancer generation process. It has been found that colchicine and some of its derivatives display a measurable ability to inhibit the expression of the VEGF and the two other telomerase-related genes. In the case of some of the hybrids, the available data point to the colchicine fragment being responsible for the observed biological activities. It is the first time that the last biological feature has been reported for colchicine or derivatives thereof. We thank the Spanish Government (MINECO, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, research grants CTQ2008-02800 and CTQ2011-27560), by the Consellería d’Empresa, Universitat i Ciencia de la Generalitat Valenciana (research grants PROMETEO/2013/027, ACOMP09/113 and ACOMP/2014/272) and by the Universitat Jaume I (research grants P1-1B-2008-14 and PI-1B-2011-37) for financial support. C.V. further thanks the MINECO for a predoctoral fellowship of the FPI program. The authors thank Prof. C. M. Cerda García-Rojas, from the Departamento de Química, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico, for the kind sending of pironetin samples.

The aerial parts of two subspecies of Centaurea aspera L. (Asteraceae) yielded the germacranolides 1a – h , 2 , 3 , 4 and 5 , the elemane derivatives 6d and 6f , the lignan matairesinol, the degraded terpene loliolide, and the onopordopicrin–valine dimeric adduct 7 . From these, compounds 1e , 3 and 6d are natural products. The chemical composition of the two subspecies is very similar, a circumstance which does not support a taxonomic subdivision of the species.

Six diterpenes isolated from the latex of Euphorbia obtusifolia Poir. (Euphorbiaceae) were evaluated for their inhibition of the NADH oxidase activity in submitochondrial particles from beef heart. 4,20-Dideoxyphorbol-12,13-bis(isobutyrate) was the most potent inhibitor and showed an inhibitory concentration with IC 50 value of 2.6±0.3 mM. In the present study, some structure–activity trends are suggested for the inhibitory activity of the mammalian mitochondrial respiratory chain of these natural product derivatives of 4-deoxyphorbol esters.

Silphinene sesquiterpenes are established chrysomelid antifeedants. In this work, nine silphinene analogs, 11β-acetoxy-5α-angeloyloxysilphinen-3-one (1), 11β-acetoxy-5α-tigloyloxysilphinen-3-one (2), 11β-acetoxy-5α-iso- butyryloxysilphinen-3-one (3), 11β-hydroxy-5α-angeloyloxysilphinen-3-one (4), 11β,5α-dihydroxysilphinen-3-one (5), 11β,5α-diacetoxysilphinen-3-one (6), 5α,11β-diisobutyryloxysilphinen-3-one (7), silphinen-3,5,11-trione (8), and O-methyl-5-epicantabrenolic acid methyl ester (10), and a presilphiperfolane sesquiterpene (9) were tested against several divergent insect species, including the lepidopteran Spodoptera littoralis, the chrysomelid Leptinotarsa decemlineata, and five aphid species, and their antifeedant effects were compared with those of picrotoxinin, a GABA-antagonist, and thymol, an allosteric modulator for insect GABA receptors. All insects tested responded to at least one silphinene analog and/or GABA antagonist. Compound 3 and thymol were effective antifeedants against all species tested except S. littoralis, with varying potencies according to their feeding ecologies. The toxicity of these compounds was species-dependent and did not correlate with their antifeedant effect.

We here report the synthesis of a series of 12 hybrid molecules composed of a colchicine moiety and a pironetin analogue fragment. The two fragments are connected through an ester-amide spacer of variable length. The cytotoxic activities of these compounds and their interactions with tubulin have been investigated. Relations between the structure and activity are discussed. Since the spacer is not long enough to permit a simultaneous binding of the hybrid molecules to the colchicine and pironetin sites on tubulin, a further feature investigated was whether these molecules would interact with the latter through the pironetin end (irreversible covalent binding) or through the colchicine end (reversible noncovalent binding). It has been found that binding to tubulin may take place preferentially at either of these ends depending on the length of the connecting spacer., Financial support has been granted by the Spanish Government (MINECO, Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad; Research Grants CTQ2008-02800 and CTQ2011-27560), by the Consellería d’Empresa, Universitat i Ciencia de la Generalitat Valenciana (Research Grants PROMETEO/2013/027, ACOMP09/113, and ACOMP/2014/272), and by the Universitat Jaume I (Research Grants P1-1B-2008-14 and PI-1B-2011-37). C.V. thanks the MINECO for a predoctoral fellowship of the FPI program. Part of the biological work has been supported by the BIPPED2 (Grant S2010/BMD-2457 to J.F.D.), by the Comunidad de Madrid, and by the MINECO (Grant BIO2013-42984-R to J.F.D.). We further thank Prof. C. M. Cerda García-Rojas, from the Departamento de Química, Centro de Investigación y de Estudios Avanzados del Instituto Politécnico Nacional, Mexico, for kindly sending the pironetin samples, P. Lastres for his help with flow cytometry, and the Matadero Municipal Vicente de Lucas in Segovia for providing the calf brains which were the source of tubulin.

The aerial parts of Euphorbia terracina yielded 11 new jatrophane derivatives as well as a further diterpene displaying the novel 1(15 → 14) abeo -jatrophane framework.

The aerial parts of Artemisia inculta collected in three different locations in Egypt have been chemically investigated. As a result, a new eudesmanolide and a new tetranorsesquiterpene lactone have been isolated, together with several known compounds. The chemical data available suggest the existence of distinct chemotypes for this species, but do not support its identity with other North African members of the genus.

The latex of Euphorbia canariensis yielded, in addition to five known ingenol esters, the ingenane derivatives ingenol 3-angelate 5,20-diacetate and 5-deoxyingenol 3-angelate 20-acetate, and the lathyrane derivatives 2,3-diepiingol 7,12-diacetate 8-benzoate, 2,3-diepiingol 7,12-diacetate 8-isobutyrate and 2-epiingol 3,7,12-triacetate 8-benzoate. The structures were established with the aid of spectroscopic methods, mainly NMR, and molecular mechanics calculations. They were also supported by the results of some chemical transformations.

The aerial parts of Artemisia lucentica yielded, in addition to several known compounds, a bicyclic monoterpene ketone, two germacranolides, an eudesmanolide, a 10- epi neudesmanolide, a 2-norelemanolide and three bisabolene derivatives. The stereochemistry of a germacranolide, described as 2α-hydroxyartemorin in a previous investigation of the species, has now been corrected and the compound has been renamed lucentolide.

We have analysed the effects of 7,12-O-diacetyl-8-O-benzoil-2,3-diepiingol (DBI), an ingol derivative isolated from E. canariensis, on isometric tension developed by isolated rabbit basilar and carotid arteries. Concentration-response curves to DBI (10−8 - 3 × 10−5 m) were obtained cumulatively in both arteries at resting tension and active tone (KC1, 50 mm). At resting tension, DBI induced a concentration-dependent contraction, which was not inhibited in Ca2+-free medium. H7 (1-(5-isoquinoline sulphonyl)-2-methylpiperazine dichloride) (10−4 m) inhibited the DBI-induced contraction both in basilar and in carotid arteries. Calmidazolium (10−4 m) inhibited the maximum contraction of the carotid artery to DBI, and completely abolished the response in the basilar artery. In pre-contracted basilar arteries DBI induced a concentration-dependent relaxation that was not modified by incubation with NG-nitro-l-arginine (l-NOARG; 10−5 m) or indomethacin (10−5 m). In the carotid artery with active tone DBI induced further contractions, which were not significantly modified by l-NOARG (10−5 m) and were potentiated by indomethacin (10−5 m). These results suggest that DBI contracts rabbit basilar and carotid arteries by a mechanism that is independent of extracellular Ca2+ and involves the participation both of protein kinase C and of calmodulin. DBI relaxes basilar but not carotid arteries by a mechanism independent of the liberation of nitric oxide and prostacyclin. In the carotid artery prostacyclin but not nitric oxide partially counteracts the contractile action of DBI.

The aerial parts of Euphorbia terracina yielded five new bishomoditerpene lactones, named terracinolides C-G, which display the novel C 22 17-ethyljatrophane framework.

The aerial parts of Artemisia chamaemelifolia ssp. chamaemelifolia yielded, in addition to known compounds, four acids with the silphiperfolane framework, a presilphiperfolane derivative, a bicyclic sesquiterpene formed therefrom by oxidative cleavage, a diacetylated monoterpene diol, a cadinane derivative, three acyclic sesquiterpenes and two tetrahydrofurane lignans.

The aerial parts of five Cheirolophus species yielded three new guaianolides, a new lignan and three new aromatic esters, together with other known compounds of the same type.

The aerial parts of Artemisia reptans yielded a new thiophene acetylene, four new guaianolides, a new acyclic sesquiterpene related to davanone and several known compounds.

The aerial parts of two Andryala species yielded several guaianolides and guaianolide glycosides, three of them being new. The aerial parts of Urospermum dalechampii yielded several known germacranolides and the new dihydroflavonol 3- O -methyltaxifolin.

The aerial parts of Artemisia hugueti and A. ifranensis yielded several known compounds and 15 new ones, among these were 13 eudesmanolides, a 1,10-secoeudesmanolide, and a dialcohol with a menthane framework. The stereochemistry of a previously described epimer of the eudesmanolide artemin has been corrected.

Three new xanthanolides have been isolated from Xanthium spinosum and X. strumarium subsp. italicum , together with other known compounds. The absolute configurations of xanthanol, isoxanthanol and their C-4 epimers have been established.

The aerial parts of Artemisia turcomanica and A. deserti yielded two new germacranolides, a new guaianolide, and several known mono- and sesquiterpenes.

The aerial parts of three species of the genus Cousinia have been investigated. All three species yielded sesquiterpene lactones, mainly guaianolides. In addition, one of the species yielded oxygenated bisabolene derivatives.

The aerial parts of Centaurea calcitrapa yielded cnicin, cnicin 4′-acetate, melitensin, a related elemanolide, the two new germacranolides 11α,13- and 11β,13-dihydrosalonitenolide, and the lignans arctigenin, pinoresinol and 7′( S )-hydroxyarctigenin. The latter compound is described for the first time as a natural product. The aerial parts of Centaurea pabotii yielded 11,13-dihydrodeacylcynaropicrin, aguerin A and a new guaianolide related to cynaropicrin.

A reinvestigation of the aerial parts of Pulicaria dysenterica has allowed the isolation of six new caryophyllene derivatives and 12 known ones. 13 C NMR data of all these derivatives are reported.

Extraction of roots of Ligularia persica and chromatographic separation yielded one new derivative of tovarol, four new derivatives of shiromodiol, α- and β-eudesmol, bakkenolide A and four known eremophilane derivatives.

The aerial parts of Santolina chamaecyparissus subsp. squarrosa yieleded five new germacrane derivatives and a known eudesmane dialcohol.

Extraction of aerial parts of Artemisia barrelieri and chromatographic separation yielded a new germacranolide, two new monocyclic sesquiterpenes and a novel germacranolide dimer, together with several known compounds.

Extraction of aerial parts of Artemisia caerulescens subsp. gargantae chromatographic separation yielded two new eudesmane ketones a new eudesmanolide, in addition to several known compounds. Chemical and spectroscopic evidence shows that the structure of shonachalin B has to be corrected.

The aerial parts of Artemisia herba-alba subsp. valentine yielded, in addition to known compounds, a new germacranolide, six new eudesmanolides and ilicic acid methyl ester.

The aerial parts of Artemisia herba-alba Asso subsp.valentina Lam. (Asteraceae) yielded the new eudesmanolides 1-11 and the new sesquiterpene-monoterpene adducts 12-13. The absolute configuration of compound 6 was confirmed with the aid of X-ray diffraction analysis. Some aspects of the thermal and photochemical reactivity of 2,4-cyclohexadienones are discussed.

The aerial parts of Artemisia fragrans collected in Armenia yielded a new cyclic monoterpene peroxide with the irregular santolinyl framework, together with several known germacranolides. Comparison with previously published chemical results suggests these may actually have been performed on a different, although closely related species.

The naturally occurring gamma-lactones (+)-goniofufurone 1 and (+)-cardiobutanolide 2, two pharmacologically active products from Goniothalamus species (Annonaceae), have been synthesized in enantiopure form using l-erythrulose as the chiral starting material. Key steps of these syntheses were a stereoselective anti boron aldol reaction and an asymmetric allylboration.

The aerial parts of Artemisia spicigera yielded two new eudesmanolides as well as three known ones. The aerial parts of Artemisia verlotiorum yielded four known germacranolides and two known eudesmanolides.

Extraction of aerial parts of Pallenis spinosa and chromatographic separation have yielded a new germacrane derivative and the known sesquiterpenes shiromool and α-cadinol.

The latex of Euphorbia obtusifolia var. obtusifolia yielded twelve new diterpene polyesters. Seven of them displayed the jatrophane framework and five were 4-deoxyphorbol esters. A further isolated tigliane diterpene, a derivative of 4-epi-4-deoxyphorbol, was most likely an artifact of the isolation procedure. All structures were established with the aid of spectroscopic methods.

The preparation of several new truncated analogues of the natural dihydropyrone pironetin is described. They differ from the natural product mainly in the suppression of some of the alkyl pendants in either the side chain or the dihydropyrone ring. Their cytotoxic activity and their interactions with tubulin have been investigated. It has been found that all analogues are cytotoxic towards two either sensitive or resistant tumoral cell lines with similar IC50 values in each case, thus strongly suggesting that, like natural pironetin, they also display a covalent mechanism of action. Their cytotoxicity is, however, lower than that of the parent compound. This indicates that all alkyl pendants are necessary for the full biological activity, with the ethyl group at C-4 seemingly being particularly relevant. Most likely, the alkyl groups cause a restriction in the conformational mobility of the molecule and reduce the number of available conformations. This makes it more probable that the molecule preferentially adopts a shape which fits better into the binding point in α-tubulin., Financial support has been granted to M. C. by the Spanish Government (Ministerio de Economía y Competitividad, project numbers CTQ2008-02800 and CTQ2011-27560), by the Consellería d’Empresa, Universitat i Ciencia de la Generalitat Valenciana (projects ACOMP09/113 and PROMETEO/2013/027) and by the Universitat Jaume I (projects P1-1B-2008-14 and PI-1B-2011-37). The biological work has been supported in part by grants from the Spanish Ministry of Education and Science (grant number BIO2010-16351) and from the Comunidad de Madrid (grant number S2010/BMD-2457 BIPEDD2- CM), both to J. F. D. We thank Dr I. López Martín for her help with part of the experimental synthetic work. We further thank the Matadero Municipal Vicente de Lucas in Segovia for providing the calf brains, which were the source of tubulin. J. A. M. thanks the COST Action CM0804 for help in establishing cooperation with other research groups

Seven diterpenes isolated of the latex of the Euphorbia obtusifolia were evaluated as inhibitors of the NADH oxidase activity in submitochondrial particles from bovine heart. Compound 2, 2,3,5,7,8,9,15-heptahydroxyjatropha-6(17),11-diene-14-one 8,9-diacetate 7-isobutyrate 2,3-bis(2-methylbutyrate), was the most potent inhibitor with an inhibitory concentration (IC 50 ) value of 5.1 +/- 0.2 microM. In the present study, some structure-activity trends are suggested for the inhibitory activity of these natural products on the mammalian mitochondrial respiratory chain.

Porcine pancreatic lipase (PPL) and lipase Amano P catalyze the enantioselective acylation of cyclic 1,2- and 1,3-amino alcohol derivatives in organic solvents. The enatiomeric excesses (ee′s) were shown to depend on the enzyme, reaction time, temperature and type of substrate.

Tandem cycloaddition–enzymatic transesterification with pancreatic pig upase or the lipase from Candida ciclindracea carried out in ethyl, vinyl, or isopropenyl acetate gives rise to optically active Diels–Alder type derivatives from symmetrical precursors with both high enantioselectivity and chemical yield.

Extraction of aerial parts of Artemisia hispanica and chromatographic separation yielded the eight known sesquiterpene lactones costunolide, artemorin, anhydroverlotorin, tamaulipin A, reynosin, santamarin, matricarin and deacetylmatricarin, the flavone cirsimaritin, zingerone, 1-hydroxy-α-bisabololoxide A acetate and the new germacranolide 2α-hydroxyartemorin.