A new acetogenin, sabadelin, has been isolated from the roots of Annona mur
icata and was characterised using tandem mass spectrometry (MS/MS). The str
ucture determination of this compound was strengthened by epoxidation and t
ransformation leading to a known mono-tetrahydrofuran acetogenin. Sabadelin
is probably an intermediate in the biosynthetic pathway of mono-THF acetog
enins, and it is proposed as a biogenetic precursor of cis-panatellin. (C)
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