Total Synthesis of the Zoanthamine Alkaloid

1Introduction The zoanthamine alkaloids, a type of heptacyclic marine alkaloid isolated from colonial zoanthids of the genus Zoanthus sp., have attracted much attention from a wide area of science, because of their distinctive biological and pharmacological properties as well as their chemical structures with stereochemical complexity.Namely, norzoanthamine (1)[1] can suppress the loss of bone weight and strength in ovariectomized mice and has been considered a promising candidate for an antiosteoporotic drug[1], whereas zoanthamine (2)[2] has exhibited potent inhibitory activity toward phorbol myristate-induced inflammation in addition to powerful analgesic effects[2]. See Fig. 1.