Selective and facile deacetylation of pentacyclic triterpenoid under methanolic ammonia condition and unambiguous NMR analysis

The acetyl ester plays an important role for protection of the hydroxyl groups in carbohydrates synthesis.In the present study,we described an efficient deprotection of acetyl group of pentacyclic triterpenoid by using methanolic ammonia in THF solution.Good selectivity for cleaving gal-C2-OAc group of 3β-hydroxy-olean-12-en-28-oic acid 28-N-2,3,4,6-tetra-O-acetyl-β-D-galactopyranoside(3) was achieved in the presence of methanolic ammonia within 4 h at low temperature(-60℃) in a yield of 56%.The reaction disclosed here provides a new method for the synthesis of C2 selective modified carbohydrates,which is more useful than conventional synthesis procedure that usually requires many steps including temporary regioselective protection and deprotection.When the reaction temperature was increased from -60℃ to room temperature,the cleavage of the other three acetyl groups of galactose in an order of C4-OAc>C3-OAc>C6-OAc was observed.Based on this study,a plausible route for the deacetylation reaction has been proposed.

Facile preparation and characterization of novel oleanane-type triterpene functionalized β-cyclodextrin conjugates

Oleanolic acid(OA) and echinocystic acid(EA), two naturally occurring pentacyclic oleanane triterpenes,are gaining increasing attention due to their promising pharmacological activities. Conjugation with amphiphilic α(β)-cyclodextrin(CD) via "click chemistry" can improve their solubility and anti-HCV entry potency. In the present work,four water-soluble β-CD-pentacyclic triterpene conjugates were designed and synthesized, in which OA and EA was coupled to one of the primary hydroxyl groups of β-CD via ester and amide bonds. The structures of the conjugates were unambiguously determined by ~1H NMR, ^(13)C NMR and HRMS or MALDI-TOF-MS. All the conjugates showed lower hydrophobicity(AlogP) than their parent compounds and no significant cytotoxicity was found to HL-60, A549, Hela and Bel-7402 cells at concentrations up to 10 μmol/L. Further anti-HCV entry activity and mechanism studies are under way in our laboratory.