Natural cadinane-type sesquiterpenoids and their bioactivity: a review (2015-2025).

Natural cadinene-type sesquiterpenoids (CTSs) exhibit diverse structures and a wide range of pharmacological activities, including anti-tumor, anti-inflammatory, and antibacterial effects. They represent an important source for new drug discovery and development. By searching the PubMed, Web of Science, and the China National Knowledge Infrastructure (CNKI) databases, this review summarizes the research progress on 283 naturally occurring CTSs isolated and identified from plants, terrestrial fungi, marine organisms, and bacteria between 2015 and 2025. Based on their structural characteristics, these CTSs were classified into 145 bicyclic CTSs, 76 tricyclic CTSs, 37 carbon-bridged CTS dimers, 13 oxygen-bridged CTS dimers, 2 CTS trimers, and 10 heterocyclic CTSs. In addition, the biological activities and biosynthetic pathways of selected compounds are summarized. This work may facilitate the discovery and development of therapeutic agents derived from natural CTSs.