An expeditious procedure for the isolation of ingenol from the seeds of euphorbia lathyris

A short and practical process for the isolation of ingenol (1a) from an agricultural commodity (the seeds of Euphorbia lathyris) is described. Macrocyclic diterpene esters are obtained as byproducts, and the esterification pattern of the Euphorbia factors L2 (3), L3 (4a), and L8 (4b) was established by 2D NMR measurements. Full spectroscopic data for these compounds are reported.