Advances in applications, metabolism, and biotechnological production of L-xylulose.

L-Xylulose is an intermediate in certain metabolic pathways and is classified as a rare sugar. It shows important physiological effects such as acting as an inhibitor of α-glucosidase and decreasing blood glucose, and it can be employed to produce other significant rare sugars, such as L-ribose and L-xylose which contribute to the production of antiviral drugs. Chemical synthesis of L-xylulose was performed, but it is difficult and low yielding. The biotransformation from xylitol to L-xylulose by xylitol 4-dehydrogenase was studied intensively. This review describes the occurrence of L-xylulose in certain metabolic pathways, its bioproduction, and application potential.

Catalytic asymmetric synthesis of a 1-deoxy-1,1-difluoro-D-xylulose.

[reaction: see text] A new route, of potential strategic importance, to a difluorosugar analogue has been developed. Key steps included a Stille coupling and a highly regio- and enantioselective dihydroxylation of a highly substituted diene. Protecting groups were chosen to enhance the reactivity of the disubstituted allylic fragment in the AD reaction and allow deprotection under orthogonal conditions.

1-Deoxy-D-xylulose: synthesis based on molybdate-catalyzed rearrangement of a branched-chain aldotetrose.

1-Deoxy-D-xylulose has been prepared in seven steps and approximately 21% overall yield from 2,3-O-isopropylidene-D-erythrono-1,4-lactone. The key reaction involves transformation of a branched-chain aldotetrose to the 1-deoxy-2-ketopentose catalyzed by molybdic acid. Other branched-chain aldotetroses containing bulkier substituents at C2 also engage in the conversion, suggesting routes to protected 2-ketoses and alpha-ketoacids/esters. This synthetic route mimics reactions of the non-mevalonate isoprenoid pathway in plants and bacteria. [reaction: see text]

Synthesis of D-erythro-2-pentulose and D-threo-2-pentulose and analysis of the 13C- and 1H-n.m.r. spectra of the 1-13C- and 2-13C-substituted sugars.

The pentuloses D-erythro-2-pentulose (1) and D-threo-2-pentulose (2) and their 1-13C- and 2-13C-substituted derivatives were prepared by hydrogenating the corresponding isotopically normal and 13C-substituted D-pentos-2-uloses with a Pd-carbon catalyst. The threo isomer and its labeled derivatives were alternatively prepared from isotopically normal and 13C-substituted D-xyloses with immobilized D-xylose (D-glucose) isomerase (E.C.5.3.1.5). The equilibrium compositions of 1 and 2 (furanose anomers and acyclic keto forms) in 2H2O were determined from 13C-n.m.r. spectra (75 MHz) of the 2-13C-labeled derivatives. The conformational properties of the cyclic and acyclic forms in 2H2O were assessed with the use of 1H-1H, 13C-1H, and 13C-13C spin-coupling constants obtained from 1H-n.m.r. (620 MHz) and 13C-n.m.r. (75 MHz) spectra. Compared with the structurally related aldotetrofuranoses the 2-pentulofuranoses more strongly prefer conformations in which the anomeric hydroxyl group is oriented quasi-axially. The strongly dipolarized carbonyl group in the acyclic keto forms of 1 and 2 appears to stabilize chain conformations having O-1 and O-3 eclipsed with the carbonyl oxygen.