Estrazioni di sostanze naturali da piante della flora sarda: struttura e applicazioni. Chemorecezione gustativa: sintesi e relazioni attività-struttura di molecole attive sul sapore

The presence of a lactonic system and/or a furanic element is the most important structural element in the bitter isoprenoid group (a class of compounds structurally heterogeneous). These substances are able to put in action more than one bitter receptors and to be used in programs of derivatives for chiral syntons and libraries of bioactive compounds. The research has been focused on compounds that have these structural characteristics using the availability of receptioral models for their sensory characterization. Within the set of these compounds there is the class of sesquiterpenic lactones, above all the grosseimin (from the guaianolid family) extracted from the artichoke and the arborescin extracted from the arthemisia. These lactones are able to put on work more than one bitter receptors as the arborescin, able to put on work five bitter receptors. The research has managed for the bitter isoprenoids extracted from the two plans as follow: isolation of sesquiterpenic lactones; systematic structural modification of lactones extracted by means of organic synthesis methodology (a library of derivatives for the study of structure-activity relation was found); research of potential inhibitories of bitter property in natural and analogous compounds.