title: Biosynthesis, total syntheses, and antitumor activity of tanshinones and their analogs as potential therapeutic agents.
abstract: Tanshinones are a series of abietane diterpenes, isolated exclusively from Salvia miltiorrhiza and related species. More than 40 tanshinones and their analogs have been isolated since the 1930s. Their biosynthetic pathway correlates with the MEP/DOXP pathway, and many key enzymes, such as mCPS, are responsible for establishing their molecular scaffolds and stereospeciﬁcity. Because of their unique structural characteristics and promising biological activities, total syntheses of various tanshinones have attracted the interest of many synthetic chemists, including R. H. Thomson, H. Kakisawa, R. L. Danheiser, Y. Inouye and J. K. Snyder. Tanshinones and their analogs exhibit interesting and broad antitumor activity in various cell and animal models. Most recently, the tanshinone analog neo-tanshinlactone has shown potent and selective activity against breast cancer. This review will discuss the biosynthesis, total syntheses, and antitumor activities of tanshinones,especially neo-tanshinlactone and its analogs.
authors.affiliation: Natural Products Research Laboratories, Eshelman School of Pharmacy, University of North Carolina, Chapel Hill, North Carolina 27599-7568, USA.
authors.forename: Yizhou
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Dong
authors.forename: Susan L
authors.initials: SL
authors.lastname: Morris-Natschke
authors.forename: Kuo-Hsiung
authors.initials: KH
authors.lastname: Lee
mesh_terms: D045784:Abietanes; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D004354:Drug Screening Assays, Antitumor; D015394:Molecular Structure; D010616:Phenanthrenes / Q000138:chemical synthesis / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology / Q000627:therapeutic use; D010946:Plants, Medicinal / Q000737:chemistry*; D027561:Salvia miltiorrhiza / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D045784:Abietanes; D000972:Antineoplastic Agents, Phytogenic; D010616:Phenanthrenes; C021751:tanshinone