ABSTRACT
Brazilian flora is undoubtedly one of the more plentiful sources of inspiration for the development of new drugs. However, various natural products that have therapeutic properties are not available in sufficient amounts for sustainable use and/or for the development of new derivatives by modifying such substances. Moreover, obtaining a renewable supply of active compounds from biological sources may be problematic, especially with respect to perennial plant species. The complexity of many natural products can also limit the scope of chemical modifications necessary to optimize therapeutic use. Despite these barriers, the total synthesis of various bioactive natural products and analogs has proven that organic synthesis is a powerful tool for increasing the availability of valuable natural products of limited supply or with very complex structures. Herein, we present the total synthesis of some important Brazilian plant-derived natural products of pharmacological and agricultural interest, including examples of coumarins, flavonoids, alkaloids, terpenes, and lignoids, among others: providing examples of the unique carbon-carbon scaffolds of natural products from Brazilian flora that have pushed organic chemists to develop new synthetic methodologies allowing them to synthesize such interesting substances.
