ANTI-INFLAMMATORY AND ANALGESIC SEX PHEROMONE.

Walter Soares Leal, Shigefumi Kuwahara, Makoto Hasegawa, Paulo H. G.Zarbin, Hubert Wojtasek andYasuo Ueda
Laboratory of Chemical Prospecting, National Institute of Sericulturaland Entomological Science, 1-2 Ohwashi, Tsukuba 305, Japan.

Sex pheromones have been identified for a large number of species sincethe milestone finding of bombykol more than 30 years ago, thanks to increasinglysophisticated analytical techniques and a great deal of effort. These sexpheromones, which number in their hundreds, are mainly restricted to asmall group of chemicals with remarkable structural similarities. Femalelepidoptera, for example, largely use alcohols, aldehydes, acetates, andhydrocarbons, including epoxides of hydrocarbons. We have now identifiedan aromatic alkaloid, 1,3-dimethyl-2,4-(1H,3H)-quinazolinedione, as thesex pheromone for the pale-brown chafer, Phyllopertha diversa. Interestingly,this compound was synthesized more than 40 years ago, and has been reportedto have anti-inflammatory, analgesic, and anticonvulsant effects.