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Updated: Aug 10, 2025

Author Spotlight: Discovering New Alkaloids in Plants with Advanced Mass Spectrometry Techniques
Published on: March 8, 2024
Dimeric pyrrole-imidazole alkaloids: sources, structures, bioactivities and biosynthesis
Mei-Jun Chu1, Meng Li2, Yongda Zhao1
1College of Veterinary Medicine, Qingdao Agricultural University, Qingdao 266109, China.
Abstract:
Pyrrole-imidazole alkaloids (PIAs) constitute a highly diverse and densely functionalized subclass of marine natural products. Among them, the uncommon dimeric PIAs with ornate molecular architectures, attractive biological properties and interesting biosynthetic origin have spurred a considerable interest of chemists and biologists. The present review comprehensively summarized 84 dimeric PIAs discovered during the period from 1981 to September 2022, covering their source organisms, chemical structures, biological activities as well as biosynthesis. For a better understanding, these structurally intricate PIA dimers are firstly classified and presented according to their carbon skeleton features as well as biosynthesis pathways. Furthermore, relevant summaries focusing on the source organisms and the associated bioactivities of these compounds belonging to different chemical classes are also provided, which will help elucidate the fascinating chemistry and biology of these unusual PIA dimers.
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