A busca por herbicidas eficientes e ambientalmente corretos tem sido foco de numerosos estudos sobre a síntese de compostos isolados de fontes naturais. Citosporonas, as quais são lipídeos fenólicos isolados de fungos, apresentam notáveis propriedades biológicas. Este artigo relata a preparação das citosporonas A, B e C, através de uma rota sintética curta e com excelentes rendimentos. Os compostos sintetizados foram avaliados quanto às suas atividades alelopáticas em sementes de alface (Lactuca sativa L). Citosporona A e seu precursor metilado mostraram notável atividade alelopática, inibindo a germinação de sementes e crescimento das plântulas.

The search for efficient, environmentally friendly herbicides has been the focus of numerous studies on the organic synthesis of compounds isolated from natural sources. Cytosporones, which are phenolic lipids isolated from fungi, exhibit noteworthy biological properties. This paper reports the preparation of cytosporones A-C from the same starting material through a short synthetic route, with good yields. All compounds were tested for allelopathic activity on lettuce (Lactuca sativa L) seeds. Cytosporone A and its methylated precursor showed remarkable allelopathic activity, inhibiting seed germination and plantule growth.

Inspired by the structure and biological activities of resorcinolic lipids and, particularly cytosporone A- a potent inhibitor of plantule germination and growth, we have performed the synthesis of the analogs 3-heptyl-3-hydroxy-5,7-dimethoxy-2-benzofuran-1(3H)-one (1) and 3-heptyl-3-hydroxy-4,6-dimethoxy-2-benzofuran-1(3H)-one (2). The intermediates and products were submitted to allelopathic test using Lactuca sativa L. seeds. Target compound 1 showed an inhibitory effect on germination and growth of hypocotyl and radicle in milimolar range.