Neolignans and Sesquiterpenoid from Piper yunnanense

Abstract

Two biphenyl‐type neolignans with a rare dibenzofuran skeleton, including a new one piyunneolignan A (1) and a known one piperneolignan D (2), together with a new sesquiterpenoid piyunin A (3), were isolated from the leaves and twigs of Piper yunnanense. Their structures were established on the basis of comprehensive spectroscopic data analysis and electronic circular dichroism (ECD) calculation. Piyunneolignan A (1) featured a rare C‐2−C‐2′/C‐3−O−C‐3′ linkage. Compounds 1–3 were evaluated for their antimicrobial and cytotoxic activities against a panel of bacteria, fungi, and human cancer cell lines, respectively.

Testing the role of local plant chemical diversity on plant–herbivore interactions and plant species coexistence

“…Nevertheless, some phenolic compounds have been found in the leaves of a few Piper species in La Selva, including two that are part of our experimental communities (Baldwin & Schultz, 1988; Conde‐Hernandez & Guerrero‐Beltran, 2014; Diaz et al, 2012; Maxwell et al, 1999). A very notable exception are the neolignans, a group of less common phenolic compounds that are abundant and diverse across the Piperaceae, and that cannot be detected via GC–MS (Chen et al, 2021; Jensen et al, 1994; Macedo et al, 2017; Maxwell et al, 1999). Contrastingly, terpenoids (from monoterpenes to sesquiterpenes), smaller phenylpropanoids, and alkaloids (imide and amide alkaloids for Piperaceae) can be easily detected using standard GC–MS equipment and have been shown to play key roles in Piper defense (Benevides et al, 1999; Dyer et al, 2001; Parmar et al, 1997, 1998; Whitehead & Bowers, 2014).…”