Chapter 14 - Advances in the synthesis of furo[2,3-b]furanone-containing natural products

Abstract

Abstract Furo[2,3-b]furanone motif represents an important structural entity present in diverse natural products isolated from various natural sources ranging from terrestrial plants to marine sponges. More than 100 natural products harboring a furo[2,3-b]furanone core are known and new variants are regularly surfacing in the literature. The structural complexity encountered in furo[2,3-b]furanone embodying natural products varies from a simple monoterpenoid like paeonilide to more complex prototypes like cheloviolenes, chromodorolides, gracilins, etc. Taking note of the interesting architecture of these natural products and their broad spectrum biological activities, research groups all over the world have been engaged in endeavors toward their total syntheses and many notable successes have been accomplished over the past few decades. In this chapter, we chronicle the advances in total syntheses of furo[2,3-b]furanone based natural products and also capture some features of their structure determination and biological activity attributes.