Bioactive natural compounds for the fight against cancer

Phytoalexins are bioactive phytochemicals that have attracted much attention in recent years because of their beneficial effects on human health and their vital role in plant health. Chemists at the Technical University of Dresden have developed a new, highly effective synthesis of these substances. With this new method, they are paving the way for simpler production of phytoalexins and thus for large-scale research into their effects, particularly with regard to their positive influence in the fight against cancer.

Thanks to a balanced diet, we consume larger quantities of phytoalexins every day, in a natural and healthy way. Phytoalexins (gr. phytos = plant, alekein = "to grow back") are phytochemical substances that plants produce as an immune response to certain stimuli in order to maintain their own health. Numerous scientific studies have already shown that these bioactive natural products also have a beneficial effect on human health. However, in order to study the mechanisms of action in detail, it is important to obtain the various phytoalexins simply, which has so far been done with little effectiveness and using toxic substances.

Philipp Ciesielski and Peter Metz from the chair of organic chemistry I at the Technical University of Dresden presented a new and extremely effective synthesis of phytoalexins in the renowned journal Nature Communications. In particular, the low-level synthesis of the phytoalexins Glyceollin I and Glyceollin II, which are produced as part of the immune response in soybean plants, is a decisive innovation. These two natural compounds are characterized by a broad spectrum of bioactivities, including anti-tumor activity and health-promoting, antioxidant and anti-cholesterol effects against Western diseases.

Previous syntheses of Glycerollin I and II use large amounts of osmium tetroxide, a highly toxic and expensive oxidizing agent, as well as large amounts of a relatively expensive excipient as a ligand in the key step. The new synthesis route, on the other hand, does without osmium tetroxide and at the same time is much more efficient.

"Our synthesis pathway to various phytoalexins now provides easier access to these substances. This is an important basis for further research into the biological activity of these natural compounds and may well form the basis for their further development as therapeutic products. The pathway we have described to the basic structure of phytoalexins can also be used by other research groups for the synthesis of related natural and active compounds," concludes Professor Metz.