Recent Total Syntheses of Cephalotaxine‐Type Alkaloids (2016–2021)

Abstract Over the past decades, scientists have obtained a diverse range of interesting natural products, including alkaloids, terpenoids, and flavonoids from the genus Cephalotaxus . Among them, cephalotaxine‐type alkaloids have attracted considerable attention from chemists because of their intriguing pentacyclic structures as well as the diversity of naturally occurring analogs. Notably, homoharringtonine (Trade name: Synribo®) is a pharmaceutical drug, which was approved by the FDA in 2012 for the treatment of chronic myeloid leukemia, implying that cephalotaxine‐type alkaloids have medicinal value. Since the first total synthesis of cephalotaxine, almost 70 total syntheses of cephalotaxine‐type alkaloids have been reported, involving various synthetic methodologies. Because of their potential as molecular platforms for the development of organic chemistry, the total synthesis of cephalotaxine‐type alkaloids has been extensively studied. This review focuses on the recent 10 total syntheses of cephalotaxine‐type alkaloids reported in the period, 2016–2021. In addition, synthetic hallmarks, such as common synthetic routes and ring‐opening features of this class, were also addressed.