Identification and total synthesis of novel fatty acids from the siphonarid limpet Siphonaria denticulata

The novel fatty acids 17-methyl-6(Z)-octadecenoic acid and 17-methyl-7(Z)-octadecenoic acid were identified for the first time in nature in the mollusk Siphonaria denticulata from Queensland, Australia. The principal fatty acids in the limpet were hexadecanoic acid, octadecanoic acid, and (Z)-9-octadecenoic acid, while the most interesting series of monounsaturated fatty acids was a family of five nonadecenoic acids with double bonds at either Delta (7), Delta (9), Delta (11), Delta (12), or Delta (13). The novel compounds were characterized using a combination of GC-MS and chemical transformations, such as dimethyl disulfide derivatization. The first total syntheses for the two novel methyl-branched nonadecenoic acids are also described, and these were accomplished in four to five steps and in high yields.