Marine algae of the order Caulerpales are known for their chemical defense against predators by producing secondary metabolites. The majority of these often acyclic compounds are sesquiterpenoids and diterpenoids. The terminal 1,4-diacetoxybutadiene moiety is a functional group common to most of these metabolites. Nowadays, more than 30 toxins with this moiety have been isolated from the Udoteaceae and Caulerpaceae families such as caulerpenyne A and ...
