Isolation, biological activity and synthesis of benzannulated spiroketal natural productsThis paper is part of an NPR themed issue on Synthesis, guest-edited by Andreas Kirschning and Andy Phillips

Covering: up to late 2009 A review of the isolation, biological activity and synthesis of natural products containing a benzannulated spiroketal moiety is provided. Several diverse spiroketal-containing natural products have been isolated over the years, but compounds of this class that contain aryl rings fused to the spiroketal moiety are relatively rare. This review provides a concise overview of the isolation and biological activity of this class of compounds, as well as the considerable endeavors towards their total synthesis.