Natural resorcylic lactones derived from alternariol.

In this overview, naturally occurring resorcylic lactones biosynthetically derived from alternariol and almost exclusively produced by fungi, are discussed with view on their isolation, structure, biological activities, biosynthesis, and total syntheses. This class of compounds consists until now of 127 naturally occurring compounds, with very divers structural motifs. Although only a handful of these toxins (i.e., alternariol and its 9--methyl ether, altenusin, dehydroaltenusin, altertenuol, and altenuene) were frequently found and isolated as fungal contaminants in food and feed and have been investigated in significant detail, further metabolites, which were much more rarely found as natural products, similarly show interesting biological activities.