Synthesis of ergostane-type brassinosteroids with modifications in ring A

• Vladimir N. Zhabinskii,
• Darya A. Osiyuk,
• Yuri V. Ermolovich,
• Natalia M. Chaschina,
• Tatsiana S. Dalidovich,
• Miroslav Strnad and
• Vladimir A. Khripach

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2017, 13, 2326–2331, doi:10.3762/bjoc.13.229

• biosynthetic precursors/metabolites differing by the ring A fragment. The protocol is based on the use of readily available phytohormones of this class bearing a 2α,3α-diol moiety (epibrassinolide or epicastasterone) as starting materials. The required functionalities (Δ2-, 2α,3α- and 2β,3β-epoxy-, 2α,3β-, 2β

• ,3α-, and 2β,3β-dihydroxy-, 3-keto-, 3α- and 3β-hydroxy-, 2α-hydroxy-3-keto-) were synthesized from 2α,3α-diols in a few simple steps (Corey–Winter reaction, epoxidation, oxidation, hydride reduction, etc.). Keywords: biosynthetic precursors; brassinosteroids; diols; epibrassinolide; epicastasterone

• ; metabolites; Introduction The group of steroid plant hormones called brassinosteroids (BS) currently comprises about 70 compounds [1]. It is generally accepted that only few of them (such as brassinolide, castasterone, epibrassinolide, etc.), possessing 2α,3α-, (22R,23R)-diol groups, B-lactone, and 6-ketone