.
Quinic acid as a sugar compound from nature is found in many different
plants, such as tobacco leaves, carrot leaves, apples, peaches, pears,
plums, vegetables etc. Quinic acid and of course Shikimic acid are key
intermediates in the biosynthesis of aromatic compounds in living systems.

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TAMIFLU

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Quinic acid is a versatile chiral starting material for the synthesis of new
pharmaceuticals. A new medicament for the treatment of influenza
A- and B-strains called Tamiflu has been successfully
developed and launched into the market recently.

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.i
influenza neuraminidase inhibitor
.

The active ingredient GS 4104 inhibits a key enzyme needed for
replication of the flu virus in host cells (J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1997, 119, 681).