Daphnane diterpenoids have a
trans-fused 5/7/6 (A/B/C) tricyclic structure, characterized by an isopropenyl group attached to C-13 at the six-membered ring (C-ring) (
Fig. 14). Over the past half century, this type of diterpenoids is found in plants of the Thymelaeaceae and Euphorbiaceae families. In 1970, the first daphnane diterpenoid, daphnetoxin (
58), was isolated as a potent toxic compound from
Daphne mezereum (Thymelaeaceae) (
Fig. 15) [
278]. Around the same time, mezerein (
59) was also isolated from
D. mezereum, and later,
in vitro and
in vivo experiments demonstrated that it exhibited potent anti-leukemic activity, leading to increased attention on daphnane diterpenoids as potential anticancer agents [
279,
280]. On the other hand, in 1971, huratoxin (
60) was isolated with potent piscicidal activity from
Hura crepitans (Euphorbiaceae), revealing the presence of daphnane diterpenoids in plants of the Euphorbiaceae family [
281,
282]. Daphnane diterpenoids represented by compounds such as
58–
60 are characterized by an orthoester acylate formed at C-9, C-13, and C-14 of the C-ring and possess an
α,β-unsaturated ketone group in the A-ring and a 4
β,5
β-dihydroxy-6
α,7
α-epoxy structure in the B-ring. Resiniferatoxin (
61), a promising drug candidate among the daphnane diterpenoids for pain treatment, possesses a 9,13,14-orthoester structure but lacks a 5
β‑hydroxy group and a 6
α,7
α-epoxy group, instead having the 6,7-ene structure commonly found in the phorbol esters. Compounds with the 6,7-ene structure in the B-ring have been reported only from plants of the genus
Euphorbia since the isolation of 4 from
Euphorbia resinifera and
E. unispina in 1975 [
283]. Proresiniferatoxin (
62), isolated alongside
63 from
E. resinifera and
E. unispina, as well as vesiculosin (
64), isolated with excoecariatoxin (
65) from
Diarthron vesiculosum (Thymelaeaceae) [
284], have a 9,13,14-trihydroxy structure resulting from the cleavage of the 9,13,14-orthoester moiety. Since
62 readily converts to
61 under high temperature or acidic conditions, compounds with a 9,13,14-trihydroxy structure are proposed as precursors in the biosynthesis of compounds with a 9,13,14-orthoester structure [
285].