Syntheses of Four Methyl-branched Secondary Acetates and a Methyl-branched Ketone as Possible Candidates for the Female Pheromone of the Screwworm Fly,<i>Cochliomyia hominivorax</i>

Abstract

6-Acetoxy-19-methylnonacosane (1), 7-acetoxy-19-methylnonacosane (2), 8-acetoxy-19-methylnonacosane (3), 7-acetoxy-15-methylnonacosane (4), and 21-methyl-7-hentriacontanone (5) were synthesized as racemic and diastereomeric mixtures. These are new compounds isolated from an HPLC fraction of the female hexane extract which elicited mating responses in the male screwworm fly, Cochliomyia hominivorax.