Advances in producing the anti-HIV compound Lancilactone C

Flow of structure revision and synthesis of lancilactone C. Credit: KyotoU/ AyumiUchino

In a study published in the Journal of the American Chemical Society, researchers appear to have discovered a way to produce a true structure of the rare but naturally-occurring anti-HIV compound Lancilactone C from start to finish.

Its non-cytotoxicity in mammals could make this triterpenoid an ideal candidate for treating AIDS if its biological activity were clear—and if it were abundant in nature.

Now, a research group at Kyoto University has succeeded in creating a domino-like synthesis of Lancilactone C’s unique seven-membered ring structure.

“Our synthetic method revealed that the proposed structure of Lancilactone C was initially incorrect,” says Chihiro Tsukano of Kyoto University’s Graduate School of Agriculture. “But we successfully derived its

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