An efficient new process is described for the synthesis of ecteinascidin ET-743 (1) and phthalascidin (2), starting from readily available cyanosafracin B (3).

Avocado oil has generated growing interest among consumers due to its nutritional and technological characteristics, which is evidenced by an increase in the number of scientific articles that have been published on it. The purpose of the present research was to discuss the extraction methods, chemical composition, and various applications of avocado oil in the food and medicine industries. Our research was carried out through a systematic search in scientific databases. Even though there are no international regulations concerning the quality of avocado oil, some authors refer to the parameters used for olive oil, as stated by the Codex Alimentarius or the International Olive Oil Council. They indicate that the quality of avocado oil will depend on the quality and maturity of the fruit and the extraction technique in relation to temperature, solvents, and conservation. While the avocado fruit has been widely studied, there is a lack of knowledge about avocado oil and the potential health effects of consuming it. On the basis of the available data, avocado oil has established itself as an oil that has a very good nutritional value at low and high temperatures, with multiple technological applications that can be exploited for the benefit of its producers.

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Greenhouse tomato production is shifting to meet emerging consumer needs. Increasing environmental concerns have pressured growers to supply high-quality vegetables using sustainable production methods. The utilization of adapting fertigation to production conditions and/or nutrient solutions of moderately high conductivity seems promising in providing high yields of superior quality while limiting the emission of nutrients to the environment in greenhouse tomato crops. A tomato crop was grown in soilless culture with various levels of electrical conductivity (EC), 2.2, 3.5, and 4.5 dS·m−1, adjusting the final nutrient concentration and maintaining nutritional balance. The effect of nutrient solutions with moderately high EC on fertigation parameters and the emission of nutrients to the environment, total crop productivity, distribution of fruit sizes, and dietary and organoleptic qualities were measured. Nutrient solutions of moderately high EC decreased total and commercial yield, with an average reduction from 5% to 19% and 3% to 22%, respectively. A considerable decrease in extra large and large fruits, with an average reduction from 69% to 42%, was also observed. Nonetheless, dietary-related metabolites were significantly increased at the highest EC values: lycopene (6.3%), ascorbic acid (8.8%), total phenolics content (8.3%), and total antioxidant activity (11.1%). EC values of 3.5 and 4.5 dS·m−1 are not widely used in commercial production but are frequently measured in drainage solutions in open hydroponic systems and discarded solutions in closed systems, mainly because of the use of poor-quality water and the accumulation of excess nutrients.

The semisynthetic process initially described for the synthesis of 1 (ET-743) has been extended to the preparation of other natural ecteinascidins. For the synthesis of 2 (ET-729) a demethylation of a N-Me intermediate was carried out by a selective oxidation with MCPBA. Other natural ecteinascidins (ET-745, ET-759B, ET-736, ET-637, ET-594) were accessible from key intermediate 25. The described methodologies allow for the preparation of a wide variety of ecteinascidins by procedures that can be easily scaled up.