Biosynthesis of an Anti-Addiction Agent from the Iboga Plant.
Journal of the American Chemical Society August 21, 2019 Scott C Farrow, Mohamed O Kamileen, Lorenzo Caputi et al. 69 citations
The plant-derived psychoactive compounds (-)-ibogaine and (-)-voacangine show promise for treating opioid addiction but are difficult to obtain from natural sources. Researchers achieved the complete biosynthesis of (-)-voacangine and its de-esterified form, which converts to (-)-ibogaine upon heating, enabling biocatalytic production. These compounds have the opposite enantiomeric configuration compared to other major alkaloids in their class, offering insight into enantioselective enzymatic formal Diels-Alder reactions.