Two new compounds, 4-hydroxy-5-~3-methyIbutanoyl)-2-~3-methyl-2-butenyl~fu-ran (2H) -3-one (5) and 2-(3-methyl-2-butenyl) -4-ethanoyl-3,4-dihydroxy-5-(2-methylpropylidene)-2-cyclopentenel-one (12) have been isolated from isomerisation reaction mixtures of humulone (L). A s both formation mechanisms show, the compounds are rearranged derivatives of the hop anti rso-a-acids.Humulone (1, scheme l), the main hop a-acid, can easily be isomerised to the 1 epimeric isohumulones (2, scheme 1) in different circumstances . Recently, it was shown that the ring contraction, via acyloin rearrangement, occurs partially in an alternative way, yielding the anti isohumulones (?, scheme 1) and derivatives . The specific features, which push the rearrangement in one or the other direction, were also discussed3.lone (4, scheme 1) and derivatives have been isolated and characterised . The total yield of the hop anti iso-a-acids and derivatives amounts to 10 %, which is quite important in view of their extremely strong bittering power .TWO new members are now added to the hop anti iso-a-acids family.
2In addition, deacylated anti isohumu- The band with distribution coefficient 0.3 contains 5, which has, according to mass spectral data, an elerent;ll fonnula of C14~2000?. The UV-characteristics exclude the presence of the commonly encountered 6-tricarbonyl or 8-dicarbonyl systems in hopThe structure is revealed by 300 MHz 'H-NMR. Only one 3-methyl-2-butenyl side chain of 1 remains, while analysis unravels two spin systems, ABXY and ABX respectively. Due to broadening of the X-part at 6 5.04 by long range couplings, no values of coupling constants can be extracted. Measurements at Bevoegdverklaard Navorser of the Belgian "Nationaal Fonds voor Wetenschappelijk Onderzoek" .-a 7 -