Compounds from the Chinese black ant (Polyrhachis dives) and NMR behavior of the isomers with formamide group

Abstract

Two new dopamine derivatives divesamides A (1) and B (2), along with six known N-containing compounds were isolated from the Chinese black ant (Polyrhachis dives). Their structures were determined on the basis of spectroscopic methods. Compound 1 is a racemate, and chiral HPLC separation yielded a pair of antipodes. The absolute configuration of (+)-1 was assigned by a computational method. The double signals in the ¹H and ¹³C NMR spectra of 2 that resulted from the presence of a formamide group were discussed. The T- and B-lymphocytes proliferation assay showed that 2 has moderate immunosuppressive activity toward T- and B-lymphocytes proliferation at a concentration of 20 μM.

Keywords::

• Polyrhachis dives
• black ant
• N-containing compound
• amide bond
• immunosuppressive activity

Acknowledgments

This work was financially supported by the Open Research Fund of State Key Laboratory Breeding Base of Systematic Research, Development and Utilization of Chinese Medicine Resources.

Notes

^1. These authors contributed equally to this paper.