Asperlicin is a

mycotoxin A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξίνη , "toxin") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by organisms of kingdom Fungi and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals. The term 'mycotoxin' ...

, derived from the fungus ''

Aspergillus alliaceus ''Aspergillus alliaceus'' is a species of fungus in the genus ''Aspergillus''. It is from the ''Flavi'' section. It was first described scientifically by Charles Thom Charles Thom (November 11, 1872 – May 24, 1956) was an American micro ...

''. It acts as a selective antagonist for the

cholecystokinin receptor Cholecystokinin receptors or CCK receptors are a group of G-protein coupled receptors which bind the peptide hormones cholecystokinin (CCK) and gastrin. There are two different subtypes CCKA and CCKB which are ~50% homologous: Various cholecyst ...

CCK_A, and has been used as a

lead compound A lead compound (, i.e. a "leading" compound, not to be confused with various compounds of the metallic element lead) in drug discovery is a chemical compound that has pharmacological or biological activity likely to be therapeutically useful, but ...

for the development of a number of novel CCK_A antagonists with potential clinical applications.Lattmann E, Billington DC, Poyner DR, Howitt SB, Offel M. Synthesis and evaluation of asperlicin analogues as non-peptidal cholecystokinin-antagonists. ''Drug Design and Discovery''. 2001;17(3):219-30. He et al. 1998 present a synthesis from

aryl iodide In organic chemistry, an aryl halide (also known as haloarene) is an aromatic compound in which one or more hydrogen atoms, directly bonded to an aromatic ring are replaced by a halide. The haloarene are different from haloalkanes because they exhi ...

and

vinyl iodide In organic chemistry, a vinyl iodide (also known as an iodoalkene) functional group is an alkene with one or more iodide substituents. Vinyl iodides are versatile molecules that serve as important building blocks and precursors in organic synthesi ...

References

Mycotoxins Cholecystokinin antagonists Lactams {{gastrointestinal-drug-stub