Cembrene A Explained

Cembrene A, or sometimes neocembrene, is a natural monocyclic diterpene isolated from corals of the genus Nephthea.^[1] It is a colorless oil with a faint wax-like odor.

Cembrene A itself has little importance as a chemical entity, being a trail pheromone for termites;^[2] however, the chemical structure of cembrene is central to a very wide variety of other natural products found both in plants and in animals.^[3]

Cembrenes are biosynthesized by macrocyclization of geranylgeranyl pyrophosphate.^[3]

Notes and References

1. Vanderah, David J. . Rutledge, Neal . Schmitz, Francis J. . Ciereszko, Leon S . Marine natural products: cembrene-A and cembrene-C from a soft coral, Nephthea species . Journal of Organic Chemistry . 1978 . 43 . 8 . 1614–1616. 10.1021/jo00402a040.
2. Birch, A. J. . Brown, W. V. . Corrie, J. E. T. . Moore, B. P . Neocembrene-A, a termite trail pheromone . Journal of the Chemical Society, Perkin Transactions 1. 1972 . 21 . 2653–2658. 10.1039/p19720002653.
3. Terpenes: Flavors, Fragrances, Pharmaca, Pheromones, Eberhard Breitmaier, page 7.