Total Syntheses of the Herqulines

Abstract

Herqulines are small alkaloids with highly distorted structures that are synthesized from two tyrosine molecules. Between December 2018 and January 2019, the excellent total syntheses of herqulines B and C were reported by the groups of Wood, Baran, and Schindler. In 2022, the group of Han reported the synthesis of 1-hydroxyherquline A; however, the total synthesis of herquline A has not yet been achieved. In this short review, we will give an overview of the studies reported to date that focused on the syntheses of the herquline family.