Fate of leucine in the biosynthesis of bakuchiol, a meroterpene from Psoralea corylifolia

Significant incorporations of labelled leucine, valine and isovaleric acid into the meroterpene, bakuchiol (1) isolated from the medicinal plant, Psoralea corylifolia have been observed. Degradation experiments show that labels from these substrates find their way into both phenylpropane derived as well as terpenic part of 1 thereby indicating that none of the known pathways is operative in the case of 1. It is suggested that these substrates are metabolised to CO2 which is then incorporated into 1.