Z. Taira et al., MARCHANTIN-A TRIMETHYL ETHER - ITS MOLECULAR-STRUCTURE AND TUBOCURARINE-LIKE SKELETAL-MUSCLE RELAXATION ACTIVITY, Chemical and Pharmaceutical Bulletin, 42(1), 1994, pp. 52-56
Marchantin A is a novel macrocyclic bis(bibenzyl)ether isolated from t
he liverwort Marchantia species. An X-ray study of its derivative, mar
chantin A trimethyl ether, revealed that the molecule possesses convex
and concave surfaces, with a central hole on the concave surface. The
centroid-centroid separations of opposing benzene rings are 8.80 and
4.55 Angstrom. A pharmacological study showed that the skeletal muscle
relaxation activity is about 3.5 times less potent than that of d-tub
ocurarine. A comparison of the X-ray structure of marchantin A. trimet
hyl ether and that of O,O',N'-trimethyltubocurarine reported by Sobell
ct al. revealed that the molecules share almost the same macrocyclic
bis(bibenzyl)ether skeleton structure, portions of which may therefore
be crucial for the skeletal muscle relaxation activity.