Syntheses of Englerin A, a Potent Renal Cancer Inhibitor

Mankind has been searching for anticancer drugs from nature and artificial compounds. Since the discovery of englerin A, a guaiane sesquiterpene possessing the characteristic tricyclic 5–6-5 fused ring framework with contiguous seven stereogenic centers and isolated from Phyllanthus engleri, many synthetic groups have enthusiastically launched and accomplished its the chemical synthesis. All the synthetic groups focused on how to efficiently construct the tricyclic framework containing oxygen bridge with various approaches. In this review, the total and formal syntheses of englerin A reported to date are summarized.