Morimoto Satoshi, Suemori Kazunari, Taura Futoshi, Shoyama Yukihiro
Graduate School of Pharmaceutical Sciences, Kyushu University, 3-1-1 Maidashi, Higashi-ku, Fukuoka, 812-8582, Japan.
J Nat Prod. 2003 Jul;66(7):987-9. doi: 10.1021/np020583l.
Together with bismorphine A (1), a new compound bismorphine B (2) was identified in the wounded capsules of Papaver somniferum. On the basis of analyses of the various spectral data, bismorphine B (2) was determined as a novel morphinan alkaloid, in which two morphine units are coupled through a biphenyl ether bond. When the physiological function of bismorphine B (2) in opium poppy was investigated, it was evident that this alkaloid more effectively cross-links cell wall polysaccharide pectins than bismorphine A (1) and that such cross-linking reaction leads to resistance against hydrolysis by pectinase.
