<p>
Natural compounds isolated from terrestrial plants have been
studied for a long time and have been successful. However, studies on
marine compounds have only begun in the middle of the last century.
Currently, natural marine compounds are known to be a promising
source of pharmaceuticals, and many highly biologically active
compounds have been found in various marine organisms. Difficulties in
collecting large amounts of samples and requiring high funding are one
of the obstacles to research in the field of marine chemical compounds.
Therefore, organic synthesis is an effective alternative to generate larger
amounts of active ingredients to serve biological studies, as well as to
ensure their applicability. Many marine-derived active compounds play
as lead compounds so that researchers can make new derivatives possess
higher biological activity. The bengamides isolated from marine sponges
are known for their potent anti-cancer activity. However, structural
instability is one of the reasons limiting the applicability of this class. In
order to overcome this limitation of bengamides, we chose the research
topic "Synthesis and cytotoxicity of bengamide analogues A and E" in
this thesis.
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