Cyclopropane fatty acid

Cyclopropane fatty acids (CPA) are a subgroup of fatty acids that contain a cyclopropane group.[1] Although they are usually rare, the seed oil from lychee contains nearly 40% CPAs in the form of triglycerides.[2]

Mycolic acids are components of the cell wall of the bacterium Mycobacterium tuberculosis, the causative agent of tuberculosis.

Biosynthesis

CPAs are derived from unsaturated fatty acids by cyclopropanation. The methylene donor is a methyl group on S-adenosylmethionine (SAM). The conversion is catalyzed by cyclopropane-fatty-acyl-phospholipid synthase.[3] The mechanism is proposed to involve transfer of a CH3+ group from SMM to the alkene, followed by deprotonation of the newly attached methyl group and ring closure.[4]

Structure of U-106305, a CPA with six cyclopropane rings, isolated from Streptomyces sp.

Cyclopropene fatty acids

Cyclopropene fatty acids are even rarer than CPAs. The best known examples are malvalic acid and sterculic acid. Sterculic acid as its triglyceride is present in sterculia oils and at low levels in kapok seed oil (~12%), cottonseed oil (~1%), and in the seeds of the tree Sterculia foetida (~65-78%). These acids are highly reactive but the cyclopropene ring is destroyed during refining and hydrogenation of the oils. They have attracted interest because they reduce levels of the enzyme stearoyl-CoA 9-desaturase (SCD), which catalyzes the biodesaturation of stearic acid to oleic acid.[5]

References

  1. ↑ http://lipidlibrary.aocs.org/lipids/fa_cycl/index.htm
  2. ↑ Gaydou, E. M.; Ralaimanarivo, A.; Bianchini, J. P. "Cyclopropanoic Fatty-Acids of Litchi (Litchi-Chinensis) Seed Oil - a Reinvestigation" J. Agr. Food Chem. 1993, vol. 41, pp. 886-890. doi:10.1021/jf00030a009
  3. ↑ Grogan DW, Cronan JE Jr: Cyclopropane ring formation in membrane lipids of bacteria" Microbiol Mol Biol Rev 1997, vol. 61, pp. 429-441. http://mmbr.asm.org/content/61/4/429.full.pdf+html
  4. ↑ Ludger A. Wessjohann and Wolfgang Brandt, Thies Thiemann "Biosynthesis and Metabolism of Cyclopropane Rings in Natural Compounds" Chem. Rev., 2003, volume 103, pp 1625–1648. doi:10.1021/cr0100188
  5. ↑ Abraham, Samuel (1975). International encyclopedia of pharmacology and therapeutics: Pharmacology of lipid transport and atherosclerotic processes, Volume 1. Pergamon Press. p. 108.

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