Question

Ichthyothereol is isolated from the leaves of Ichthyothere terminalis. It is so toxic to fish that they will jump out of the water if any leaves from this plant are used as bait. It is also used by the indigenous people of the Amazon for poisoned arrowheads. How many stereoisomers are possible for ichthyothereol?

Answer 1

See the explanation

Step-by-step explanation:

We have to start by analyzing the molecule. In the molecule, we have two types of isomerism. In the double bond, we can have E or Z isomerism, and additionally, we have a chiral carbon (a carbon with 4 different bonds) (See figure 1). With this in mind, we can have 4 possible isomers.(See figure 2).

a) (3S)-2-(E)-ichthyothereol

b) (3R)-2-(E)-ichthyothereol

c) (3R)-2-(E)-ichthyothereol

d) (3R)-2-(Z)-ichthyothereol

I hope it helps!