Covering: up to January 2008

Over the past 30 years, the family Schisandraceae has received considerable attention in chemical and biological studies. In particular, the discovery of a series of highly oxygenated triterpenoids with different skeletons has further increased the interest in this family. This review covers the structures, proposed biosynthetic pathways, total synthesis and biological activities of these and other triterpenoids from the plants of the family Schisandraceae. There are 100 references.