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. Can. J. Chem. 59,2677Chem. 59, (1981. Plant tissue cultures of Tripterygium wilfordii Hook F produced the cytotoxic diterpene triepoxides tripdiolide (1) and triptolide (2) in yields that were 16 and 3 times greater, respectively, than those observed in the plant itself. Other diterpenes, dehydroabietic acid (3) and 15-hydroxy-18-norabieta-3,8,11,13-tetraene-3-oic acid methyl ester (4) were also isolated. Co-occuring in these cultures were the cytotoxic quinone-methides, celastrol(5), compound 6, and compound 7. Other triterpenes produced were oleanolic acid (8) and polpunonic acid (9). p-Sitosterol(17) was also isolated. The proposed structure of 4 was confirmed by synthesis startingfrom compound 3. Cytotoxic data are reported, and a possible biosynthetic relationship among dehydroabietic acid, compound 4, and tripdiolide (1) is presented.

A cell line of Catharanthus roseus (L.) G. Don coded PRL # 200, was characterized with respect to its biosynthetic capabilities for indolealkaloids, in particular catharanthine, in suspension cultures. Other alkaloids isolated are vallesiachotamine isomers, ajmalicine, hörhammericine, hörhammerinine, vindolinine, 19-epivindolinine and strictosidine lactam.