Tigliane and daphnane diterpenoids from Thymelaeaceae family: chemistry, biological activity, and potential in drug discovery

Tigliane and daphnane diterpenoids are characteristically distributed in plants of the Thymelaeaceae family as well as the Euphorbiaceae family and are structurally diverse due to the presence of polyoxygenated functionalities in the polycyclic skeleton. These diterpenoids are known as toxic components, while they have been shown to exhibit a wide variety of biological activities, such as anti-cancer, anti-HIV, and analgesic activity, and are attracting attention in the field of natural product drug discovery. This review focuses on naturally occurring tigliane and daphnane diterpenoids from plants of the Thymelaeaceae family and provides an overview of their chemical structure, distribution, isolation, structure determination, chemical synthesis, and biological activities, with a prime focus on the recent findings.

Automated summary

Tigliane and daphnane diterpenoids, found in Thymelaeaceae and Euphorbiaceae plants, have diverse structures due to the presence of polyoxygenated functionalities in their polycyclic skeleton. Despite being known as toxic components, these diterpenoids have shown a wide range of biological activities, including anti-cancer, anti-HIV, and analgesic properties, making them attractive in natural product drug discovery. This review focuses on naturally occurring tigliane and daphnane diterpenoids from Thymelaeaceae plants, providing an overview of their chemical structure, distribution, isolation, structure determination, chemical synthesis, and recent findings.