Frog Alkaloid Research Articles

Alkaloids in the Mite Scheloribates laevigatus: Further Alkaloids Common to Oribatid Mites and Poison Frogs

Poison frogs are chemically defended from predators by diverse alkaloids, almost all of which are sequestered unchanged from alkaloid-containing arthropods in the frog diet. Oribatid mites recently have been proposed as a major dietary source of poison frog alkaloids. Here, we report on alkaloids common to an oribatid mite and poison frogs. Gas chromatographic-mass spectrometric analysis of methanol extracts of adult Scheloribates laevigatus (Oribatida: Scheloribatidae) revealed nine alkaloids. Five of these have been detected previously in the skin glands of poison frogs: two isomers of the pumiliotoxin 291G, two isomers of the 5,6,8-trisubstituted indolizidine 209C, and the 5,6,8-trisubstituted indolizidine 195G. The other four alkaloids, a pumiliotoxin, a tricyclic (coccinelline-like), and two isomers of an izidine, were not previously known, but are similar in structure to alkaloids found in poison frogs. Alkaloids were not detected in immature S. laevigatus, suggesting that they are adult-specific and possibly the result of mite biosynthesis. Although most of the alkaloids detected in S. laevigatus are common to poison frogs, the geographic distributions of these organisms are not sympatric. The findings of this study indicate that oribatid mites, and in particular, members of the genus Scheloribates, represent a relatively unexplored arthropod repository for alkaloids and a significant dietary source of alkaloids in poison frogs.

ChemInform Abstract: Discovery of Batrachotoxin: The Launch of the Frog Alkaloid Program at NIH

AbstractChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

ChemInform Abstract: Epibatidine: From Frog Alkaloid to Analgesic Clinical Candidates. A Testimonial to “True Grit”!

AbstractChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract of an article which was published elsewhere, please select a “Full Text” option. The original article is trackable via the “References” option.

Arthropod Alkaloids in Poison Frogs: A Review of the ‘Dietary Hypothesis’

Poison frogs are chemically defended from predators and/or microorganisms by the presence of alkaloids in dermal skin glands. Over the past 40 years, more than 800 alkaloids, which are generally organized into 28 structural classes, have been identified in several lineages of poison frogs worldwide. Originally, the presence of alkaloids in frogs was thought to be the result of biosynthesis, however research led largely by John W. Daly resulted in the discovery that most of these alkaloids are sequestered unchanged from dietary arthropods. In the present paper, we review the most significant findings and studies that led to the proposal of the 'dietary hypothesis'.

Epibatidine: From Frog Alkaloid to Analgesic Clinical Candidates. A Testimonial to “True Grit”!

A routine toxicity test of the alkaloid extract from the Ecuadoran poison frog Epipedobates anthonyi gave a Straub-tail (S-T) response on sub-cutaneous (sc) injection in mice, a phenomenon never seen before from any poison frog alkaloid. It is characteristic of opioids; however, in this instance it was not blocked by a morphine-antagonist, naloxone. Its site of action was soon shown to be a nicotinic receptor. The determination of the structure of this novel analgesic named epibatidine has led to a renaissance of research into controlling pain via nicotinic pathways (thereby minimizing the risk of tolerance/addiction) and the synthesis of many analogs, some of which are discussed.

Total synthesis of (5R,6R,8R,9S)-(−)-5,9Z-indolizidine 221T using sulfinimine-derived N-sulfinyl β-amino ketones

The first total asymmetric synthesis of the poison frog alkaloid (-)-221T, a 5,6,8-trisubstituted indolizidine is described. The key core piperidine ring was constructed via an acid catalyzed intramolecular cascade Mannich cyclization reaction of a N-sulfinyl syn-alpha-methyl beta-amino ketone and crotonaldehyde. The beta-amino ketone was prepared via the reaction of prochiral lithium Weinreb amide enolate with an enantiopure N-2,4,6-triisopropylphenylsulfinyl imine.

Discovery of Batrachotoxin: The Launch of the Frog Alkaloid Program at NIH

The determination of the structures of the batrachotoxins (BTXs), extremely toxic steroidal alkaloids found in the skins of the dart-poison frogs of the genus Phyllobates from Colombia in the 1960s is reviewed. The BTXs function by locking open sodium-ion channels of nerve and muscle, thereby depolarizing them. The structures and pharmacology of the BTXs were determined by a team led by John W. Daly. This research started a 40 year long study of alkaloids from frog skin, whereby John and his team identified and/or characterized more than 800 such alkaloids. The source of the BTXs, not synthesized but sequestered from diet by the frogs, is briefly discussed, in the context of the occurrence of BTXs in birds of Papua New Guinea and in a small melyrid beetle found there. Emphasized is the critical importance of maintaining and safe-guarding the large collection of frog-skin extracts and data accumulated since.

Correction for Saporito et al. , Oribatid mites as a major dietary source for alkaloids in poison frogs

Correction for Saporito <i>et al.</i> , Oribatid mites as a major dietary source for alkaloids in poison frogs

Synthesis of poison-frog alkaloids 233A, 235U, and 251AA and their inhibitory effects on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors

We previously reported that the synthetic quinolizidine 1-epi- 207I is a relatively selective blocker of α7 nicotinic acetylcholine receptors. We now synthesized the analogous poison frog alkaloids 233A, 235U, and 251AA, and investigated the biological activities at two major types of neuronal nicotinic receptors. Electrophysiological study showed that the alkaloid 233A blocked α7 and α4β2 currents with similar potencies. Alkaloids 235U and 251AA also showed similar potencies for blockade of α7 and α4β2 currents. Thus, based on these studies, it would appear that C4 substituents greater in length than the allyl of 1-epi- 207I reduce α7-potency without affecting α4β2-potency.

Neuronal nicotinic receptors: A perspective on two decades of drug discovery research

Neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors (nAChRs) have been a target for drug discovery efforts, primarily for CNS indications, for the past two decades. While nicotine and related natural products have been used for smoking cessation in various formulations (e.g., gum, spray, patches), it was only in 2006 with the launch of varenicline (Chantix™) by Pfizer for smoking cessation that a new chemical entity (NCE) originating from a rational medicinal chemistry effort targeting neuronal AChRs was approved. The current overview outlines the chronology of drug discovery efforts in nAChRs from the cloning of the receptor family in the 1980s, to initial research efforts at SIBIA, R.J. Reynolds and Abbott, to the current industry-wide interest in nAChR agonists as novel therapeutics for pain, schizophrenia and Alzheimer's Disease. Key events in the evolution of the nAChR field were the development of high throughput electrophysiological screening tools that provided the means to enable lead optimization efforts in medicinal chemistry and the discovery by John Daly at the NIH of the frog alkaloid, epibatidine, that provided the framework for the discovery of ABT-594, an α4β2 agonist that is 200 times more potent than morphine as an analgesic. Over the next decade, it is anticipated that additional NCEs including antagonists and allosteric modulators (both positive and negative), interacting with various nAChR subtypes, will be advanced to the clinic in areas of high unmet medical need, e.g., pain, neurodegeneration, to provide novel medications with improved efficacy.

Oribatid mites as a major dietary source for alkaloids in poison frogs

Alkaloids in the skin glands of poison frogs serve as a chemical defense against predation, and almost all of these alkaloids appear to be sequestered from dietary arthropods. Certain alkaloid-containing ants have been considered the primary dietary source, but dietary sources for the majority of alkaloids remain unknown. Herein we report the presence of approximately 80 alkaloids from extracts of oribatid mites collected throughout Costa Rica and Panama, which represent 11 of the approximately 24 structural classes of alkaloids known in poison frogs. Forty-one of these alkaloids also occur in the dendrobatid poison frog, Oophaga pumilio, which co-occurs with the collected mites. These shared alkaloids include twenty-five 5,8-disubstituted or 5,6,8-trisubstituted indolizidines; one 1,4-disubstituted quinolizidine; three pumiliotoxins; and one homopumiliotoxin. All but the last of these alkaloid classes occur widely in poison frogs. In addition, nearly 40 alkaloids of unknown structure were detected in mites; none of these alkaloids have been identified in frog extracts. Two of these alkaloids are homopumiliotoxins, five appear to be izidines, four appear to be tricyclics, and six are related in structure to poison frog alkaloids that are currently unclassified as to structure. Mites are common in the diet of O. pumilio, as well as in the diets of other poison frogs. The results of this study indicate that mites are a significant arthropod repository of a variety of alkaloids and represent a major dietary source of alkaloids in poison frogs.

Individual Variation in Alkaloid Content of Poison Frogs of Madagascar (Mantella; Mantellidae)

Brightly colored Malagasy poison frogs, Mantella spp., sequester lipophilic, basic alkaloids from arthropod prey for their own chemical defense. Consequently, microsympatric prey diversity is expected to influence alkaloid diversity observed in poison frogs. Twenty-two specimens of three Mantella species from four localities in moist forests of southeastern Madagascar were analyzed individually via gas chromatography-mass spectrometry, revealing that they contain over 80 known alkaloids. Frogs within a locality possessed significantly similar alkaloid content and diversity, while frogs from areas that varied in disturbance, elevation, and/or species showed greater differences. Based on dietary data, the larger frog species Mantella baroni consumed more and larger prey, and showed greater diversity in skin alkaloids than significantly smaller Mantella bernhardi. Additionally, frogs from the most pristine locality had the greatest number of alkaloids, whereas individuals from the most disturbed localities had the least. In a comparison of frog alkaloid profiles over a 10- to 14-yr period, alkaloid turnover, and thus presumably alkaloid-source arthropod turnover, was high in a disturbed locality and low in the pristine primary forest locality. We demonstrate that the nonlethal transcutaneous amphibian stimulator (TAS) is effective for harvesting alkaloids from poison frogs; future studies using this device could obtain larger sample sizes without harming local frog populations.

Synthesis of Poison Frog Alkaloids: Novel, Potent and Subtype‐Selective Blockers of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

AbstractChemInform is a weekly Abstracting Service, delivering concise information at a glance that was extracted from about 200 leading journals. To access a ChemInform Abstract, please click on HTML or PDF.

Synthesis of Poison Frog Alkaloids : Novel, Potent and Subtype-selective Blockers of Neuronal Nicotinic Acetylcholine Receptors

This article describes the synthesis of poison frog alkaloids using the highly stereoselective conjugate addition reaction as the key step. First total synthesis of the alkaloid 223A has been achieved. The proposed structure for natural 223A was revised and the relative stereostructure was determined by this total synthesis. First total syntheses of tricyclic alkaloid 205B and quinolizididne 207I have been achieved, and the absolute stereochemistry of both natural products was determined by these total syntheses. Investigations of the inhibitory effects of synthetic poison frog alkaloids on neuronal nicotinic acetylcholine receptors have also been conducted, and we found the 5, 8-disubstituted indolizidine 235B'is a promising lead compound for the drug design to treat autosomal dominant nocturnal frontal lobe epilepsy (ADNFLE).

Convergent evolution of chemical defense in poison frogs and arthropod prey between Madagascar and the Neotropics.

With few exceptions, aposematically colored poison frogs sequester defensive alkaloids, unchanged, from dietary arthropods. In the Neotropics, myrmicine and formicine ants and the siphonotid millipede Rhinotus purpureus are dietary sources for alkaloids in dendrobatid poison frogs, yet the arthropod sources for Mantella poison frogs in Madagascar remained unknown. We report GC-MS analyses of extracts of arthropods and microsympatric Malagasy poison frogs (Mantella) collected from Ranomafana, Madagascar. Arthropod sources for 11 "poison frog" alkaloids were discovered, 7 of which were also detected in microsympatric Mantella. These arthropod sources include three endemic Malagasy ants, Tetramorium electrum, Anochetus grandidieri, and Paratrechina amblyops (subfamilies Myrmicinae, Ponerinae, and Formicinae, respectively), and the pantropical tramp millipede R. purpureus. Two of these ant species, A. grandidieri and T. electrum, were also found in Mantella stomachs, and ants represented the dominant prey type (67.3% of 609 identified stomach arthropods). To our knowledge, detection of 5,8-disubstituted (ds) indolizidine iso-217B in T. electrum represents the first izidine having a branch point in its carbon skeleton to be identified from ants, and detection of 3,5-ds pyrrolizidine 251O in A. grandidieri represents the first ponerine ant proposed as a dietary source of poison frog alkaloids. Endemic Malagasy ants with defensive alkaloids (with the exception of Paratrechina) are not closely related to any Neotropical species sharing similar chemical defenses. Our results suggest convergent evolution for the acquisition of defensive alkaloids in these dietary ants, which may have been the critical prerequisite for subsequent convergence in poison frogs between Madagascar and the Neotropics.

Synthetic Studies on Dart‐Poison Frog Alkaloids

AbstractFor Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

Synthetic Studies on Biologically Active Alkaloids Starting from Lactam‐type Chiral Building Blocks

AbstractFor Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

Amidopalladation of Alkoxyallenes Applied in the Synthesis of an Enantiopure 1‐Ethylquinolizidine Frog Alkaloid.

AbstractFor Abstract see ChemInform Abstract in Full Text.

Alkaloids indolizidine 235B', quinolizidine 1-epi-207I, and the tricyclic 205B are potent and selective noncompetitive inhibitors of nicotinic acetylcholine receptors.

Nicotinic acetylcholine receptors are key molecules in cholinergic transmission in the nervous system. Because of their structural complexity, only a limited number of subtype-specific agonists and antagonists are available to study nicotinic receptor functions. To overcome this limitation, we used voltageclamp recordings to examine the effects of several frog skin alkaloids on acetylcholine-elicited currents in Xenopus laevis oocytes expressing major types of neuronal nicotinic receptors (alpha4beta2, alpha7, alpha3beta2, alpha3beta4, and alpha4beta4). We found that the 5,8-disubstituted indolizidine (-)-235B' acted as a potent noncompetitive blocker of alpha4beta2 nicotinic receptors (IC50 = 74 nM). This effect was highly selective for alpha4beta2 receptors compared with alpha3beta2, alpha3beta4, and alpha4beta4 receptors. The inhibition of alpha4beta2 currents by (-)-235B' was more pronounced as the acetylcholine concentration increased (from 10 nM to 100 microM). Moreover, the blockade of alpha4beta2 currents by (-)-235B' was voltage-dependent (more pronounced at hyperpolarized potentials) and use-dependent, indicating that (-)-235B' behaves as an open-channel blocker of this receptor. Several other 5,8-disubstituted indolizidines (5-n-propyl-8-n-butylindolizidines), two 5,6,8-trisubstituted indolizidines ((-)-223A and (+)-6-epi-223A), and a 1,4-disubstituted quinolizidine ((+)-207I) were less potent than (-)-235B', and none showed selectivity for alpha4beta2 receptors. The quinolizidine (-)-1-epi-207I and the tricyclic (+)-205B had 8.7- and 5.4-fold higher sensitivity, respectively, for inhibition of the alpha7 nicotinic receptor than for inhibition of the alpha4beta2 receptor. These results show that frog alkaloids alter the function of nicotinic receptors in a subtype-selective manner, suggesting that an analysis of these alkaloids may aid in the development of selective drugs to alter nicotinic cholinergic functions.

Stereodivergent synthesis of the 2,3,5,6-tetrasubstituted piperidine ring system: an application to the synthesis of alkaloids 223A and 205B from poison frogs

Stereodivergent synthesis of the 2,3,5,6-tetrasubstituted piperidine ring system has been achieved by sequential stereocontrolled Michael-type conjugate addition reaction of appropriate enaminoesters. This methodology has been applied to the total syntheses of the poison frog alkaloids 223A and 205B . The relative stereochemistry of natural 223A at the 6-position was revised, and the absolute stereochemistry of natural 205B was determined by the present synthesis.