Labdanes of natural origin-biological activities (1981-2004).

Terpenoids is a class of natural compounds found in higher plants, mosses, liverworts, algae and lichens, as well as in insects, microbes or marine organisms. Through centuries many of these compounds have been used as ingredients of perfumes, drugs, narcotics or pigments. Labdanes, belonging to the bicyclic diterpenoids group, have been found as secondary metabolites in tissues of fungi, insects, marine organisms, and in essential oils, resins and tissues of higher plants. The diterpenes of labdane type, have been reported to have broad spectrum of biological activities. In this study, the reported bioactivities and/or uses of them, the last two decades (1981-2004), are selected as an attempt to underline their role in nature.