Eugene Mazzola

Nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopy, stereochemistry and conformational analysis, structural elucidation of natural products and organic compounds.

Nuclear Magnetic Resonance
The principal focus of my research program is the application of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy to problems in organic and natural products chemistry. Investigations into the structures of various secondary metabolites from the toxigenic molds Stachybotrys atra and chartarum have been a long-standing interest [See: S. F. Hinkley, J. A. Moore, J. Squillari, H. Tak, R. Oleszewski, E. P. Mazzola, and B. B. Jarvis, "New Atranones from the Fungus Stachybotrys chartarum," Magn. Reson. Chem., 41, 337 (2003), S. F. Hinkley, E. P. Mazzola, J. C. Fettinger, Y.-F. Lam, and B. B. Jarvis, "Atranones A-G, from the toxigenic mold Stachybotrys chartarum," Phytochemistry, 55, 663 (2000), and S. F. Hinkley, J. Jiang, E. P. Mazzola, and B. B. Jarvis, "Atranones: Novel Diterpenoids from the Toxic Mold Stachybotrys atra," Tet. Lett., 40, 2725 (1999)].

The structures of certain pharmacologically active compounds in edible fruit from the tree G. xanthochymus (Clusiaceae) have been recently elucidated by a variety of one- and two-dimensional NMR experiments [See: S. Baggett, P. Protiva, E. P. Mazzola, H. Yang, E. T. Ressler, M. J. Basile, I. Weinstein, and E. J. Kennelly, "Bioactive Benzophenones from Garciniaxanthochymus Fruits," J. Nat. Prod., 68, 354 (2005) and E. J. Kennelly, E. P. Mazzola, S. Baggett, E. Ressler, "Novel Pharmacologically Active Compounds from the tree G. xanthochymus (Clusiaceae)," J. Nat. Prod., 41, 337 (2003)]. In addition, diterpenoid dietary supplements from both Teucrium chamaedrys and canadense have been investigated for their biological properties [See: P. R. Sundaresan, S. A. Slavoff, E. Grundel, K. D. White, E. P. Mazzola, D. Koblenz, and J. I. Rader, "Isolation and Characterization of Selected Diterpenoids of Germander from Authenticated Teucrium chamaedrys L. and Teucrium canadense by LC, LC/MS and NMR," Phytochem. Anal., 17, 243 (2006)].

Since fruit and vegetable consumption appears to be inversely related to cancer and heart disease mortality, the structures of three additional novel antioxidant, cytotoxic, and cardioprotective triterpene saponins from the edible fruits of Blighia sapida have been determined to assist in identifying pharmacologically active constituents (E. P. Mazzola, Bruce Coxon, E. J. Kennelly, Ainsley Parkinson, and D. I. Freedberg, "Isolation and Structural Elucidation by NMR of Three Complex Saponins from Blighia sapida," manuscript in preparation).