o-Quinone Methides in Natural Product Synthesis: An Update

Abstract

In recent years, ortho-quinone methides have emerged as indispensable reactive species in enhancing synthetic efficiency to access various bioactive natural products. Importantly, the emulation of nature's patterns and strategies has yielded numerous refined synthetic pathways for the construction of intricate molecules. o-Quinone methides (o-QMs) have demonstrated remarkable versatility in organic synthesis, especially those strategies guided by a biomimetic logic. This review aims to delve into bio-inspired strategies employed over the past five years in the total synthesis of natural products involving ortho-quinone methides.