Asperlicin is a

mycotoxin A mycotoxin (from the Greek μύκης , "fungus" and τοξικός , "poisonous") is a toxic secondary metabolite produced by fungi and is capable of causing disease and death in both humans and other animals. The term 'mycotoxin' is usually rese ...

, 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 and Margaret Church in 1926. Its associated teleomorph In mycology, the t ...

''. 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 chole ...

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 a haloarene) is an aromatic compound in which one or more hydrogen atoms directly bonded to an aromatic ring are replaced by a halide ion (such as fluorine F''−'', chlorine Cl−1,−3,−5, bro ...

and vinyl iodide.

References

Mycotoxins Cholecystokinin antagonists Lactams Isobutyl compounds {{gastrointestinal-drug-stub