Synthesis of Stemona Alkaloids: A Comprehensive Review

The Stemona alkaloids are a unique class of naturally occurring alkaloids with pyrrolo[1,2-a]azepine or a pyrido[1,2-a]azepine skeleton. These alkaloids exhibit a wide range of bioactivities, including antitubercular, antibacterial, antifungal, and anthelmintic properties. The complex and interesting structure of Stemona alkaloids has attracted the attention of chemists, and numerous studies on the total synthesis of Stemona alkaloids have been published over the years. Some review articles on the total synthesis of these alkaloids have appeared in the literature. However they are quite outdated or do not describe steps in details. This article aims to give a comprehensive review on total synthesis of Stemona alkaloids. In addition, several considerable studies on formal synthesis of Stemona alkaloids have also been included.