Latest News

Fungi wake up to new natural products
29 April 2008
Re-awakening 'silent' metabolic pathways in fungi has revealed a new range of natural products to US scientists.

NPR synthesis theme issue now online
27 March 2008
The latest issue of Natural Product Reports focusses on the synthesis of natural products
NPR news archive
Contents list for Natural Product Reports, issue 2, 2008
Front cover
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 205
DOI: 10.1039/b804298p

Contents and Chemical Biology
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 207
DOI: 10.1039/b804299n
Editorial
Editorial: Synthesis themed issue
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 215
DOI: 10.1039/b802687b
Hot off the Press Article
Hot off the press
Robert A. Hill and Andrew Sutherland,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 216
DOI: 10.1039/b803247p

A personal selection of 32 recent papers is presented covering various aspects of current developments in bioorganic chemistry and novel natural products such as scholarisine A from the leaves of Astonia scholaris.
Highlight
Yatakemycin: total synthesis, DNA alkylation, and biological properties
Mark S. Tichenor and Dale L. Boger,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 220
DOI: 10.1039/b705665f
Enhanced HTML article available

This Highlight details recent syntheses towards the DNA-alkylating natural product yatakemycin, and studies of the interaction of (+)- and ent-(-)-yatakemycin and related analogues with DNA.
Review Articles
The synthetic challenge of diazonamide A, a macrocyclic indole bis-oxazole marine natural product
Mathilde Lachia and Christopher J. Moody,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 227
DOI: 10.1039/b705663j

This review details the synthetic studies on this fascinating marine natural product starting from early studies on the original structure (1991–2001), through the synthesis of the originally proposed structure and the subsequent structural revision, to the eventual successful syntheses of the natural product itself.
Recent advances in biomimetic natural product synthesis
Paul G. Bulger, Sharan K. Bagal and Rodolfo Marquez,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 254
DOI: 10.1039/b705909b

This review highlights some of the most elegant and instructive biomimetic syntheses of natural products over the last few years, providing an updated overview of this area of research.
The chemistry of marine furanocembranoids, pseudopteranes, gersolanes, and related natural products
Paul A. Roethle and Dirk Trauner,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 298
DOI: 10.1039/b705660p

A comprehensive review of furanocembranoids, pseudopteranes, and gersolanes is provided that discusses bioactivities and biosynthetic connections, and features synthetic approaches towards these marine natural products
Recent advances in the total synthesis of pharmaceutically relevant diterpenes
Torsten Busch and Andreas Kirschning,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 318
DOI: 10.1039/b705652b

A detailed overview is presented of recent total synthesis approaches to four different pharmaceutically relevant diterpenoids—the ginkgolides, tonantzitlolone, ingenol and eleutherobin.
Development of practical syntheses of the marine anticancer agents discodermolide and dictyostatin
Gordon J. Florence, Nicola M. Gardner and Ian Paterson,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 342
DOI: 10.1039/b705661n

This comprehensive review, covering 1993–2007, details the completed syntheses of the potent microtubule stabilising agents discodermolide and dictyostatin, and the synthesis of novel hybrid analogues.
Pyranonaphthoquinones—isolation, biological activity and synthesis
Jonathan Sperry, Prabhakar Bachu and Margaret A. Brimble,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 376
DOI: 10.1039/b708811f
Enhanced HTML article available

This review covers the literature on pyranonaphthoquinones and closely related analogues covering 1999–2007. Newly isolated compounds and their associated structure determination, biological activity and proposed biosynthesis, as well as the rich and diverse chemistry that has been used to construct pyranonaphthoquinones, are included.
Convergent strategies for the total synthesis of polycyclic ether marine metabolites
Makoto Sasaki and Haruhiko Fuwa,
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 401
DOI: 10.1039/b705664h

This article describes the development of convergent strategies for the synthesis of trans-fused polycyclic ethers and successful applications to the total synthesis of marine natural products and their structural fragments.
Back matter
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 427
DOI: 10.1039/b804300k
Back cover
Nat. Prod. Rep., 2008, 25, 431
DOI: 10.1039/b804301a

