Aporphines, a major group of aporphinoid alkaloids, exhibit interesting and diverse pharmacological activities. A set of dimeric aporphines with an aryloxy group at C8, C9, and C11 have been isolated from six genera and shown to elicit various biological activities such as antitumor, antimalarial, antimicrobial, antiplatelet aggregation, antifibrotic, immunosuppressive, and vasorelaxant properties. In this review, the nomenclature, chemical structures, botanical sources, pharmacological activities, and synthetic approaches of this set of dimeric alkaloids are presented.
Keywords: aryloxy; cytotoxicity; dimeric aporphines; pharmacological activity.