Natural Products Isolated from Endemic Tasmanian Vascular Plants

Tasmania is the south-eastern island state of Australia. It is geographically isolated and is recognised for both its rich diversity of plant species and high degree of endemism. Although 530 endemic Tasmanian vascular plant species are known, natural products have only been isolated from 27 of these species (~5.1 %), representing 3 classes (Dicotyledonae, Monocotyledonae, and Gymnospermae), 12 families, and 14 genera. Terpenoids, flavonoids, and alkaloids are the major classes of compound that have been isolated from these species. This report provides the first review of the natural products isolated from endemic Tasmanian plant species and covers ~70 years of research in this area.