Advances in the total synthesis of iridals

Abstract Iridals are a family of natural products predominantly found in species of the genus Iris . Biosynthetically, they originate from the triterpenoid squalene. Numerous members of this family have been studied for their bioactivity, exhibiting anticancer, antiplasmodial, antifungal, and piscicidal properties. Despite their bioactivities and discovery in 1982 and over 100 members now known, only a single iridal has been synthesized, with other efforts confined to partial syntheses or biosynthetic intermediates. This review presents the synthetic advancements in the total synthesis of iridal family members, including that of the parent compound iridal.