Natural products, the so-called secondary metabolites of plants, microbes and animals, represent unique targets of opportunities for discoveries in many areas of science, including chemistry, biology and medicine. In the area of chemistry, the often complex structures of natural products invite the development and application of new reactions and the exploration of new strategies. Along these lines, natural products synthesis could be viewed as the best way to test the scope and limitations of known and/or new reactions thereby enhancing our knowledge of chemical reactivity. In the area of biology and medicine, natural products and/or their designed analogs are used as probes for the study of novel cellular processes and constitute key points for the evolution of novel therapeutic agents.
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