Cadinanes are a class of bicyclic sesquiterpenes with complex stereochemistry and broad pharmacological activities, such as antibacterial, anti-inflammatory, and hypoglycemic activities. To date, structurally diverse and bioactive cadinane sesquiterpenes have been isolated and identified from a variety of plants and microorganisms. Moreover, deeper understandings on cadinane sesquiterpene synthases have been made. This article categorized the 124 new cadinanes which were published in the literatures in the past four years (2017-2020) into five structural types, and presented their pharmacological activities. We also illustrated the elucidation of the biosynthetic pathways for typical cadinanes, summarized the research progress on cadinane sesquiterpene synthases. Finally, current challenges and future prospects were proposed and discussed.
杜松烷型倍半萜是一类双环倍半萜，立体化学复杂，具有广泛药理活性，如抗菌、抗炎、降糖等。迄今为止，已从多种植物和微生物中分离鉴定出具有不同结构及生物活性的杜松烷型化合物，相关杜松烷型倍半萜合酶的研究也取得较大进展。本文按5种结构类型对近4年 (2017–2020年) 文献发表的结构新颖的124个杜松烷型化合物进行整理，并对其药理活性进行归纳总结，同时介绍了代表性杜松烷型化合物生物合成途径的解析概况，归纳了该类天然产物生物合成过程中关键杜松烷型倍半萜合酶的研究进展，并讨论了该类天然产物的研究前景和目前面临的一些问题。.
Keywords: biosynthesis; cadinane sesquiterpenes; pharmacological activities; sesquiterpene synthase; structure type.