Kynapcin is a general name for a number of dibenzofuranyl

Dibenzofuran

Dibenzofuran, is a heterocyclic organic compound with the chemical structure shown at right. It is an aromatic compound that has two benzene rings fused to one furan ring in the middle. All of the numbered carbon atoms have a hydrogen atom bonded to each of them...

 derivatives

Derivative (chemistry)

In chemistry, a derivative is a compound that is derived from a similar compound by some chemical or physical process. In the past it was also used to mean a compound that can be imagined to arise from another compound, if one atom is replaced with another atom or group of atoms, but modern...

 of the molecule polyozellin

Polyozellin

Polyozellin is a chemical which occurs in the mushroom Polyozellus multiplex. It inhibits prolyl endopeptidase , an enzyme that has a role in processing proteins in Alzheimer's disease. Chemicals that inhibit prolyl endopeptidase have attracted research interest due to their potential therapeutic...

, present in the fungus Polyozellus multiplex. Like polyozellin, it inhibits prolyl endopeptidase

Prolyl endopeptidase

Prolyl endopeptidase or prolyl oligopeptidase, sometimes post-proline cleaving enzyme) is a large cytosolic enzyme that belongs to a distinct class of serine peptidases. It was first described in the cytosol of rabbit brain as an oligopeptidase, which degrades the nonapeptide bradykinin at the...

, an enzyme

Enzyme

Enzymes are proteins that catalyze chemical reactions. In enzymatic reactions, the molecules at the beginning of the process, called substrates, are converted into different molecules, called products. Almost all chemical reactions in a biological cell need enzymes in order to occur at rates...

 that has a role in processing proteins (specifically, amyloid precursor protein

Amyloid precursor protein

Amyloid precursor protein is an integral membrane protein expressed in many tissues and concentrated in the synapses of neurons. Its primary function is not known, though it has been implicated as a regulator of synapse formation, neural plasticity and iron export...

) in Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease

Alzheimer's disease also known in medical literature as Alzheimer disease is the most common form of dementia. There is no cure for the disease, which worsens as it progresses, and eventually leads to death...

. Chemicals that inhibit prolyl endopeptidase have attracted research interest due to their potential therapeutic effects. Several kynapcins have been found in P. multiplex, each with different chemical properties

Chemical property

A chemical property is any of a material's properties that becomes evident during a chemical reaction; that is, any quality that can be established only by changing a substance's chemical identity...

, including kynapcin-12, kynapcin-13 and -28, and -24. A total synthesis

Total synthesis

In organic chemistry, a total synthesis is, in principle, the complete chemical synthesis of complex organic molecules from simpler pieces, usually without the aid of biological processes. In practice, these simpler pieces are commercially available in bulk and semi-bulk quantities, and are often...

of kynapcin-24 was achieved in 2009.