Chemistry and Biology of Podophyllotoxins: An Update

Chemistry. 2024 Jan 16;30(4):e202302595. doi: 10.1002/chem.202302595. Epub 2023 Nov 14.

Abstract

Podophyllotoxin is an aryltetralin lignan lactone derived from different plants of Podophyllum. It consists of five rings with four chiral centers, one trans-lactone and one aryl tetrahydronaphthalene skeleton with multiple modification sites. Moreover, podophyllotoxin and its derivatives showed lots of bioactivities, including anticancer, anti-inflammatory, antiviral, and insecticidal properties. The demand for podophyllotoxin and its derivatives is rising as a result of their high efficacy. As a continuation of our previous review (Chem. Eur. J., 2017, 23, 4467-4526), herein, total synthesis, biotransformation, structural modifications, bioactivities, and structure-activity relationships of podophyllotoxin and its derivatives from 2017 to 2022 are summarized. Meanwhile, a piece of update information on the origin of new podophyllotoxin analogues from plants from 2014 to 2022 was compiled. We hope that this review will provide a reference for future high value-added applications of podophyllotoxin and its analogues in the pharmaceutical and agricultural fields.

Keywords: bioactivity; podophyllotoxins; structural modifications; structure-activity relationships.

Publication types

  • Review

MeSH terms

  • Biology
  • Lactones
  • Lignans* / chemistry
  • Podophyllotoxin*
  • Structure-Activity Relationship

Substances

  • Podophyllotoxin
  • Lignans
  • Lactones