Table 3 Relationship between chemical features and potency of the nine active compounds.

From: Standardised comparison of limonene-derived monoterpenes identifies structural determinants of anti-inflammatory activity

Chemical features

 

Order of potency

 

4

>5

>>8*

>20

>21

>7*

>6*

>9*

>>13

=CO (C6)

+

+

+

+

+

–OH (C6)

+

+

+

=bond at C1

+

+

+

+

+

Michael centre

+

+

+

+

+

Michael centre sterically hindered

No

No

No

No

Yes

Isopropenyl group at C4

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

No

Yes

Yes

Yes

No

Chirality at C4

S

R

S

S

R

R

R

R

Chirality at C1

S

S/R

R

S

Chirality at C6

S

S/R

R

  1. +/− denotes presence/absence; S/R denotes mixture of diastomers; *denotes the stereochemistry of the most abundant isomer in the compound tested. Detailed composition is provided in Supplementary Table S1.