User:Hirofumi Kobayashi/Merrilactone A

Merrilactone A

Merrilacton A  is one of the four sesquiterpenes that were newly discovered form the fruit of Illicium merrillianum in 2000.1 The genus Illicium is well known by Chinese star anise, the widely used as a spice for flavouring food and beverages, but is also well known as poisonous plants such as Japanese star anise.2 Thus the chemical studies of Illicium have developed rapidly over the last 20 years, and merrilactone A got attention recently because it was found that this substance showed an neurotrophic activity in the cultures of fetal rat cortical neurons. Therefore, it is expected to hold therapeutic potential in the treatment of neuro-degeneration associated with Alzheimer’s and Parkinson’s diseases.3 The occurrence, bioactivity, total synthesis and biosynthesis will be discussed in this paper. Figure 1. Merrilactone A, a neurotrophic sesquiterpene dilactone from Illicium merrillianum.