Scientists Synthesize New Anticancer Compound from Plant

There may be a new anticancer compound that could be used in future drugs. Scientists have achieved the first efficient chemical synthesis of ingenol, a highly complex, plant-derived compound that has long been of interest for its anticancer potential. The new method could allow researchers to use ingenol to investigate its therapeutic properties.

In the past, researchers weren't even sure that ingenol could be chemically synthesized. The compound is actually found in the widely distributed Euphorbia genus of plant, which has long been used in traditional medicine to treat skin lesions. It's also been shown that ingenol mebutate, which is applied topically, can treat precancerous skin cells with unusual swiftness while at the same time sparing healthy cells.

In order to synthesize this compound, the researchers examined what is known about ingenol's natural synthesis in plant cells. A key feature of this natural synthesis is that the basic framework in the molecule is built first, and then the important oxygenated functional groups are added. Following that basic strategy of mimicking nature, the scientists designed the synthesis.

In the end, the researchers were able to hone the process to 14 steps. They started with a common and inexpensive chemical, careen, and then ended with ingenol. That's a huge leap forward when it comes to synthesizing the compound; previous methods involved more than 37 steps total. The scientists were able to create relatively large quantities of ingenol, which made their technique an efficient approach to the production of ingenol mebutate and other ingenol derivatives. In addition, the two-phase design provides a significant amount of a key intermediate compound; this will allow researchers to create ingenol derivatives without going through the entire synthesis.

While synthesizing ingenol is certainly a huge step forward when it comes to developing anticancer drugs, there's also the fact that they actually manage the feat in the first place. The scientists managed to show that it was indeed possible to synthesize the compound.

"There are many other complex natural compounds waiting to be synthesized using a strategy like ours--this is really just a glimpse of the future of chemical synthesis," said Phil Baran, one of the researchers, in a news release.

The findings are published in the journal Science.