Diterpene alkaloids have been isolated from a range of plants including Aconitum, Delphinium, Consolida, Thalictrum and Spiraea species. 1 and 2 There has been some interest in their biological activity, 3 but it is their complex highly functionalised skeletons that have attracted the attention of numerous synthetic 4 chemists. Of particular note is the work of the Wiesner, 5 Masamune, 6 Fukumoto, 7 and Nagata groups 8 all of whom have shown enormous ...
