Chemical transformations of parthenin, a natural bioactive sesquiterpenoid.

Chemical modifications of parthenin, a naturally occurring bioactive sesquiterpenoid, were carried out in regio- and stereoselective manners using various inexpensive reagents to form different natural and unnatural analogues. Reactions including dehydration, reduction, alkylation, addition and hydroxylation have been studied. In some of the analogues, the alpha-methylene-gamma-lactone moiety, which plays a vital role for bioactivity ofparthenin, remained intact.