Chapter 4 Pandanus Alkaloids: Chemistry and Biology

This chapter presents information on the chemistry and biology of Pandanus alkaloids. The plant family Pandanaceae, otherwise known as the screw pine family, is comprised of four genera Freycinetia, Sararanga, Pandanus, and the latest addition to the family, the genus Martellindendron. The king of the family, the genus Pandanus, is made up of about 700 known species distributed mainly in tropical and subtropical regions; 52 species of the genus are found in the Philippines. The word “pandans” comes from Malay and is applied to any member of the family Pandanaceae, a family of arborescent or lianoid dioecious monocotyledons. The genus Pandanus is present throughout Southeast Asia and Northern Australia. The most studied plant in the genus is P. amaryllifolius Roxb. P. amaryllifolius (Pandanaceae) is the only reported Pandanus species with scented leaves. The chapter provides information on pyrrolidinones, pandamarilactonines, norpandamarilactonines, pandanamine, additional pyrrolidine alkaloids, and so on. Pandamarilactam-3y and-3x are the members with the simplest structure among the known Pandanus alkaloids. The spiropiperidine structural unit present in pandamarine and pandamarilactone-1 has received considerable attention from several synthetic organic chemists.