From the journal:

Natural Product Reports

Biosynthesis of biologically active terpenoids in the mint family (Lamiaceae)

Maximilian Frey, ORCID logo *ab   Sandra T. Gohr, ORCID logo b   Tobias G. Köllner, ORCID logo c   Ulschan Bathe, ORCID logo d   Nathalie D. Lackus, ORCID logo e   Federico Padilla-Gonzalez, ORCID logo f   Dae-Kyun Ro, ORCID logo g   Sarah E. O'Connor, ORCID logo c   Jörg Degenhardt ORCID logo b  and  Alain Tissier ORCID logo a  

* Corresponding authors

a Department of Cell and Metabolic Biology, Leibniz Institute of Plant Biochemistry, Weinberg 3, 06120 Halle (Saale), Germany
E-mail: maximilian.frey@ipb-halle.de

b Dept Pharmaceutical Biotechnology, Institute of Pharmacy, Martin Luther University Halle-Wittenberg, Hoher Weg 8, 06120 Halle, Germany

c Department of Natural Product Biosynthesis, Max Planck Institute for Chemical Ecology, D-07745 Jena, Germany

d Biotechnology of Horticultural Crops, TUM School of Life Sciences Weihenstephan, Technical University of Munich, Freising, Germany

e Faculty of Biology, Julius-von-Sachs-Institute for Biosciences, Chair of Pharmaceutical Biology, Julius-Maximilians-University Würzburg, Julius-von-Sachs-Platz 2, 97082 Würzburg, Germany

f Wageningen Food Safety Research, Wageningen University & Research, 6708 PB Wageningen, The Netherlands

g Department of Biological Sciences, University of Calgary, Calgary, AB, Canada

Abstract

Covering: 2000 to 2025

The Lamiaceae family, the sixth largest among angiosperms, is renowned for its rich diversity of terpenoids, many of which exhibit remarkable bioactivities, including anti-inflammatory, psychoactive, anti-cancer, and antiviral effects. Notable examples with fully elucidated biosynthetic pathways include menthol from peppermint, forskolin from blue spur flower, and carnosol from rosemary. For other key Lamiaceae terpenes—such as the anti-cancer oridonin, the psychoactive salvinorin A, and bioactive marrubiin and vitexilactone—significant progress has been made. This review explores the bioactivity and biosynthesis of Lamiaceae terpenes, with a focus on mono- and diterpenes, while highlighting future research directions.

Graphical abstract: Biosynthesis of biologically active terpenoids in the mint family (Lamiaceae)

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Article information

DOI
https://doi.org/10.1039/D5NP00026B
Article type
Review Article
Submitted
09 Apr 2025
First published
27 Aug 2025
This article is Open Access
Creative Commons BY-NC license

Nat. Prod. Rep., 2025, Advance Article

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Biosynthesis of biologically active terpenoids in the mint family (Lamiaceae)

M. Frey, S. T. Gohr, T. G. Köllner, U. Bathe, N. D. Lackus, F. Padilla-Gonzalez, D. Ro, S. E. O'Connor, J. Degenhardt and A. Tissier, Nat. Prod. Rep., 2025, Advance Article , DOI: 10.1039/D5NP00026B

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