Progress towards the Total Syntheses of Lycopodium Alkaloid, Lycopladine A

Abstract

Several alkaloids derived from discrete Lycopodium species can treat Alzheimer's disease and increase the efficiency of learning and memory in animals. Thus, Lycopodium alkaloids bearing amazingly unique hetero-polycyclic ring scaffolds persuaded scientists to look upon its biogenetic and biosynthetic pathways and to design its ambitious total syntheses. Recently, a C 16 N type Lycopodium alkaloid, (+)-lycopladine A; isolated from the club moss Lycopodium complanatum, showed selective but modest cytotoxicity towards murine lymphoma L1210 cells (IC 50 7 μg/mL). Owing to its dense array of stereochemical features, as well as intriguing biological activity, lycopladine A has been an important synthetic target for last 12 years. An overview of the synthetic studies of lycopladine A is presented, covering literature from 2006 until March 2019.