AUTHOR=Roncero Alejandro M. , Tobal Ignacio E. , Moro Rosalina F. , Diez David , Marcos Isidro S. 

TITLE=Halimanes and cancer: ent-halimic acid as a starting material for the synthesis of antitumor drugs

JOURNAL=Frontiers in Chemistry

VOLUME=11

YEAR=2023

URL=https://www.frontiersin.org/journals/chemistry/articles/10.3389/fchem.2023.1225355

DOI=10.3389/fchem.2023.1225355

ISSN=2296-2646

ABSTRACT=<p>The development of new anti-cancer agents is an urgent necessity nowadays, as it is one of the major causes of mortality worldwide. Many drugs currently used are derived from natural products. Halimanes are a class of bicyclic diterpenoids present in various plants and microorganisms. Many of them exhibit biological activities such as antitumor, antimicrobial, or anti-inflammatory. Among them, <italic>ent</italic>-halimic acid is an easily accessible compound, in large quantities, from the ethyl acetate extract of the plant <italic>Halimium viscosum</italic>, and it has been used as a starting material in a number of bioactive molecules. In this work, we review all the natural halimanes with antitumor and related activities until date as well as the synthesis of antitumor compounds using <italic>ent</italic>-halimic acid as a starting material.</p>