New Syntheses of Fervenulin (1,3-Dimethyl-7-azalumazine) and Analogs

A new, convenient method for the synthesis of fervenulin and its derivatives on the basis of the condensation of 6-amino-5-nitrosouracils and aldehyde hydrazones is described. A transformation of toxoflavins into fervenulins via 1-demethyltoxoflavins is also described. The alkylation of 1-demethyltoxoflavin with several alcohols in the presence of diethyl azodicarboxylate and triphenylphosphine gave the corresponding fervenulin homologs.