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zinc dust in dilute alcohol12 a t room temperature pended in 50 ml. of alcohol, and 12 ml. of N NaOH furnished a mixture of I11 and 17a-hydroxycorti- added. The fumagillin dissolved, and the solu[ a I z 3 ~ 156' costerone acetate, m.p. 217-20'; tion became red. The solution was boiled under (c, 0.36 in CHClJ; Xg& 241 mp (e = 16,700); reflux for 15 minutes, diluted with 35 ml. of water (Anal. Calcd. for C23H3206: C, 68.29; H, 7.9'7. to redissolve a precipitate, boiled for ten minutes Found: C, 68.47; H, 8.14), identified further by more, filtered, cooled and acidified. The precipitate (305 mg.) was dissolved in 3.5 ml. of N NaOH, infrared comparison with an authentic sample. Similarly, 1l-epicorticosterone1~z~13 on mono- treated with Darco G-60, filtered and acidified: acetylation, followed by tosylation and elimination yield, 288 mg. of a yellow powder, insoluble in of toluenesulfonic acid with sodium acetate in acetic chloroform, alcohol, or water, m. p. 295-297" dec. acid yielded the known A499(11)-pregnadiene-21-ol- And. Calcd. for CI0HI0O4:C, 61.85; H, 5.19. 3,20-dione 21-acetate,14 m.p. 160-160.5'; [ a I z 3 ~Found: C, 61.68; H, 5.27. 128' (c, 0.76in acetone), 150' (c, 0.80inCHCb) ; The infrared spectrum showed bands a t 3.65, which on treatment with N-bromoacetamide af- 3.76 and 3.90 (carboxylic OH), 5.93 (carbonyl), forded Sa-bromocorticosterone acetate, m.p. 152- and 6.13 and 6.32 microns (C=C) in Nujol mulls. 53' (dec.); [ a l Z 3+178' ~ (c, 0.94 in CHC13); The methyl ester4was prepared through the acid (And. Calcd. for C23H3106Br:C, 59.10; H, 6.68; chloride, m. p. 214-217'; E:?!m, 3180 a t 335 mp and Br, 17.10. Found: C, 59.15; H, 6.70; Br, 17.03). 2950 a t 351 mp in alcohol containing 27, An attractive feature of this synthetic route is that it permits the introduction of radioactive chloroform. Anal. Calcd. for CI2Hl4O4:C, 64.85; H, 6.35. halogen or tritium into the stable 9-position in the Found: C, 65.10, 64.88; H, 6.60, 6.43. final step. This ester was compared directly with a syn(12) The use of other reagents commonly employed for reductive thetic samplekindly supplied by Prof, R. Kuhn. The dehalogenations such as Raney nickel with or without hydrogen, chromous chloride, zinc in acetic acid and others, led to 111, V and/or two were shown to be identical by mixed melting their 4,5-dihydro products. Of particular interest is the reaction of point, infrared (Nujol mull) and ultraviolet spectra. IV with potassium iodide in acetone, which at the boiling point yielded Isolation of Sebacic Acid from HydrogenI11 and V, while a t room temperature it afforded in almost queutitaated Fumagillin.-Fumagillin (10.1 g.) was hytive yield A4~~~~(~)-pregnatriene-l7a,21-diol-3,2O-dione acetate, m.p. 18&19Io: [a]$%+531° (c, 1.02 in CHCIa); h$& 244 mp ( e = 14,300), drogenated with Adams catalyst in alcohol at room 285-300 mr (e = 3,100), 386 mp ( e = 6,700), cf. R. Yashin, G.Rosentemperature and three atmospheres pressure. kranz and C. Djerassi, THISJOURNAL, 75, 4654 (1951). After 15 minutes over 5 molar equivalents of hydro(13) S. H. Eppstein, P. D. Meister, D. H. Peterson, H. C. Murray, gen had been consumed. The solution was filtered H. M. Leigh, D. A. Lyttle, L. M. Reineke and A. Weintraub, i b i d . , and concentrated with addition of water to remove 76, 408 (1953). (14) C. W. Shoppee and T. Reichstein, Hsler. Chim. Acta, 26, 1316 alcohol. A solution of 1.67 g. (2 molar equivalents) (1943). of sodium hydroxide in 250 ml. was added and the THESQUIBB INSTITUTE FOR MEDICAL solution heated for one hour on a steam-bath. RESEARCH JOSEF FRIED EMILYF. SABO The cooled solution was extracted with ether, evapNEWBRUNSWICK,N . J. orated to 50 ml. and acidified. A white solid (3.32 RECEIVED APRIL2, 1953 g.) precipitated, m. p. 132-133', showing no depression with authentic sebacic acid. The authors wish to thank E. F. Shelberg and DECATETRAENEDIOIC ACID, A FUMAGILLIN DEGRADATION PRODUCT associates for microanalyses, and W. H. Washburn Sir : for infrared spectra. The antibiotic f ~ m a g i l l i n ' ~has ~ * ~been shown ABBOTTLABORATORIES J . R. SCHENCK CHICAGO,Ill. M. P. HARGIE to be an acid with an empirical formula of C2e27- NORTH UNIVERSITY OF ROCHESTER D. S. TARBELL H34--3607. We have found that fumagillin can be ROCHESTER, N. Y. P. HOFFMAN5 hydrolyzed under mild alkaline conditions liberatRECEIVED APRIL2, 1953 ing a highly unsaturated acid C10H1004 with the ( . 5 ) Abbott Laboratories Fellow for 1952-1953. properties of 2,4,6,8-decatetraenedioicacid.4 This appears to be the first isolation of this acid from a natural source. The ultraviolet absorption spectrum shows peaks a t 336 mp and 351 mp similar A NEW CLASS OF ANTITUBERCULAR COMPOUNDS to fumagillin. On hydrogenation, fumagillin absorbs Sir: about 5 moles of hydrogen. Hydrolysis of hydroDuring the screening of a large number of subgenated fumagillin yields sebacic acid. These stances chosen from a wide range of chemical types, facts lead us to the conclusion that fumagillin is a the discovery was made by Dr. R. L. Mayer and mono-ester of decatetraenedioic acid : [C1,,,co-workers of the Division of Microbiology that Hzs-z~Oa]--O-CO-(CH=CH)~COOH. 4,4'-diethoxythiocarbanilide (2) had high antiIsolation of Decatetraenedioic Acid from tuberculous activity in mice infected with the Fumagillin.-One gram of fumagillin was sus- H37RV strain.' The synthesis and testing of over 300 thiocarbanilides and related substances revealed (1) T E Eble and F R Hanson, Anttbtotrcs 6'Chemotherapy, 1, 54 (1951) the rather specific structural features necessary for (2) I. N A~heshov,F Strelttt and E A Hall, ibrd , 2, 361 (1952). activity. ( 3 ) Our titration and elementary analyses agree best for C ~ ~ H W O , , Shortening the 4-substituent to methoxy (1) (see as do the data of Eble and Hanson; Asheshov, e2 al , however, prefer
+
+
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CsoH'oa. (-0 R tCit!in and C Crundmann, Rei , 6 9 , 1757 (1938)
(1) R. L. Mayer, P. C. Ekman and E. A. Ronopka, Proc. SOC.E x p . Bioi
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