Marine-derived Polyaromatic Butenolides - Isolation, Synthesis and Biological Evaluations

Marine invertebrates, especially tunicates, are a lucrative resource for the discovery of new lead compounds for the development of clinically utilized drugs. This review describes the isolation, synthesis and biological activities of several classes of marine-derived butenolide natural products, namely rubrolides and related cadiolides and prunolides. All relevant studies pertaining to these compounds up to the end of 2019 are included.