Uvaricin is a bis( tetrahydrofuranoid) fatty acid lactone that was first isolated in 1982 from the roots of the Annonaceae ''

Uvaria acuminata ''Uvaria'' is a genus of flowering plants in the family Annonaceae. The generic name ''uvaria'' is derived from the Latin ''uva'' meaning grape, likely because the edible fruit of some species in the genus resemble grapes. Circumscription Specie ...

''. Uvaricin was the first known example in a class of compounds known as acetogenins. Acetogenins, which are found in plants of the family Annonaceae, seem to kill cells by inhibiting NADH dehydrogenase in the

mitochondrion A mitochondrion (; ) is an organelle found in the cells of most Eukaryotes, such as animals, plants and fungi. Mitochondria have a double membrane structure and use aerobic respiration to generate adenosine triphosphate (ATP), which is used ...

. A method to synthesize uvaricin was first published in 1998, and an improved stereoselective synthesis published in 2001.

References

Acetate esters Tetrahydrofurans Furanones Polyketides {{organic-compound-stub