Beilstein J. Org. Chem.2015,11, 2521–2539, doi:10.3762/bjoc.11.273
nine-membered carbocycle which is the characteristic structural feature of these natural products. Additionally, the putative biosynthetic pathway of xenicanes is illustrated.
Keywords: asymmetric synthesis; natural products; total synthesis; Xenia diterpenoids; xenicanes; Introduction
Terpenoids are
a large group of structurally diverse secondary metabolites. Among these natural products, Xenia diterpenoids or xenicanes represent a unique family with intriguing structural features and diverse biological activities. Many xenicanes display significant cytotoxic and antibacterial activity and are
the soft coral Xenia elongata in Australia, whose structure was elucidated in 1977 by Schmitz and van der Helm (Figure 1a) [2]. The common numbering of the xenicane skeleton shown in Figure 1b is used throughout this review.
Since then, several further xenicanes with various modifications of the
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Graphical Abstract
Figure 1:
a) Structure of xenicin (1) and b) numbering of the xenicane skeleton according to Schmitz and van ...