Catalytic asymmetric reactions in alkaloid and terpenoid syntheses

Catalytic asymmetric induction is one of the most important methods in current synthetic organic chemistry for designing efficient and attractive synthetic routes. The efficient total synthesis of a natural product can be achieved through the identification of appropriate method and strategy. This Letter introduces the catalytic asymmetric syntheses of alkaloids and terpenoids based on an overview of four recently reported types of asymmetric reaction: (1) asymmetric decarboxylative allylation, (2) organocatalytic cascade reaction, (3) polyene cyclization, and (4) asymmetric [2+2]-photocycloaddition catalyzed by a chiral Lewis acid.