Podophyllotoxin and Aryltetralin Lignans: Methods for the Synthesis of Rings A, B, C, D

Podophyllotoxin, its derivatives and structural analogues are an extensive group of aryl-tetralin-lignans of interest in pharmacology due to their promising anticancer and antitumor activity. The synthesis methods that have been proposed to date seek to resolve synthetic, stereochemical, pharmacodynamic and environmental aspects. In this review we have updated and brought together different classifications of lignan and podophyllotoxin synthesis. Transformation methods focus on the strategies used to form or functionalize rings A, B, C and D, as well as the configuration of the system of four stereogenic centers that fuse rings C and D.