Seedlings and micropropagated leaves of Virola surinamensis afforded (
2S, 3R, oxy-4-methyl-2-(7'-piperonyl-n-heptyl)-butanolide, a novel rep
resentative of the juruenolide group. Correlations between enhancement
of shoot proliferation and increased lactone formation were observed
by adding several phytohormones to culture media of seedling explants.