The Metabolome of the <i>Ocotea</i> spp.: From Biosynthetic Aspects to Bioactive Chemical Scaffolds by Integrating the Genus Chemical Database ( <i>Ocotea</i> DB)

The genus Ocotea is a significant source of bioactive agents within the Lauraceae, yet it remains underexplored. Despite its ethnomedicinal relevance and chemical diversity, Ocotea species remain taxonomically challenging as they belong to the multifaceted “Ocotea complex”, a phylogenetically unresolved group. Moving beyond previous literature Ocotea surveys, this review provides the first curated, genus-specific data set of both volatile and nonvolatile specialized metabolites. Covering research articles from 1830 to 2025, this review provides the most comprehensive synthesis to date, documenting 984 unique chemical compounds across 115 species. This effort culminated in the construction of the Ocotea Chemical Database (OcoteaDB), a novel digital resource created to streamline the genus’s chemical diversity for the global scientific community. Furthermore, it presents current knowledge of biosynthetic routes leading to key bioactive scaffolds, including aporphinoid and benzylisoquinoline alkaloids, lignoids, glycosylated flavonoids, and a diverse array of terpenoids, while addressing the stereochemical and structural intricacies unique to the genus. This review lays a robust foundation to drive future Ocotea-focused bioprospecting studies and guides research in the fields of natural products, chemophenetics, metabolomics, and medicinal chemistry regarding the Ocotea species, its chemical scaffolds, and specialized metabolites.