2009年6月14日 星期日

攝食螞蟻所獲得之正甲基十氫喹啉首次被發現被Ameerega屬箭蛙使用作為化學防禦物質

Daly et al. 2009. Methyldecahydroquinolines: An Unexpected Class of Alkaloids from Amazonian Poison Frogs (Dendrobatidae). Journal of Natural Products, DOI: 10.1021/np900094v (另見Science Daily之簡介)

Abstract The dominant alkaloids previously identified in skin extracts of Amazonian dendrobatid frogs of the genus Ameerega are histrionicotoxins and 2,5-disubstituted decahydroquinolines. Analysis of alkaloids in skin extracts of Ameerega picta from Bolivia revealed that the alkaloid 257A, previously reported as a 2,5-disubstituted decahydroquinoline, is an N-methyl-2,5-disubstituted decahydroquinoline. We characterized alkaloids of another 12 of the more than 25 species recently assigned to the genus Ameerega, and five additional N-methyldecahydroquinolines were identified. In some cases, the relative configuration of the N-methyldecahydroquinolines was determined by comparison with the N-methylated products prepared from the corresponding 2,5-disubstituted decahydroquinolines of known relative configuration. A dietary source for N-methyldecahydroquinolines is unknown; however, myrmicine ants are the likely source for the 2,5-disubstituted decahydroquinolines. The alkaloids in skin extracts of three species of another genus of Amazonian poison frog, Adelphobates, were also characterized, but N-methyldecahydroquinolines were not detected.

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