Mbandakamines A and B, unsymmetrically coupled dimeric naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids, from a Congolese Ancistrocladus species.

Mbandakamines A (1) and B (2), isolated from the leaves of an as yet unidentified Congolese Ancistrocladus species, are the first dimeric naphthylisoquinoline alkaloids with an unsymmetrically coupled central biaryl axis. Their novel 6',1″-coupling type implies a hitherto unprecedented peri-peri coupling in one of the naphthalene parts, leading to the as yet highest steric hindrance at the central axis and a total of seven elements of chirality. Mbandakamine A exhibits good antimalarial activity.

Functional characterization of a class III acid endochitinase from the traps of the carnivorous pitcher plant genus, Nepenthes.

Carnivory in plants is an adaptation strategy to nutrient-poor environments and soils. Carnivorous plants obtain some additional mineral nutrients by trapping and digesting prey; the genus Nepenthes is helped by its specialized pitcher traps. To make the nutrients available, the caught prey needs to be digested, a process that requires the concerted activity of several hydrolytic enzymes.