Potential of myo-inositol as a starting material for natural product synthesis

Phosphorylated derivatives of myo-inositol are involved in various cellular processes and they are crucial for the survival of cells. Discoveries related to these biological aspects revived the interest in the chemistry of inositols, since derivatives and analogs of phosphoinositols were required as molecular tools for the delineation of the myo-inositol cycle in eukaryotic cells. Extensive research on the chemistry of inositols in the last 3-4 decades encouraged organic chemists to explore the use of myo-inositol, the most abundantly available inositol, as a starting material for the synthesis of natural products. This article is an attempt to review the progress in this area of synthetic chemistry and identify aspects that need to be addressed to increase the potential of myo-inositol as a starting material for natural product synthesis.