The Wittig and related reactions in natural product synthesis

Originally reported in Liebigs Annalen in 1953 (then called Justus Liebigs Annalen der Chemie), the Wittig reaction has evolved to include the Horner-Wittig and Horner-Wadsworth-Emmons reactions and several other variations. Today, these reactions constitute some of the most powerful processes for the construction of carbon-carbon bond frameworks, facilitating the chemical synthesis of myriads of organic molecules both in research laboratories and industrial settings. The Wittig and related reactions were proven particularly useful in the field of total synthesis, where they enabled the construction of highly complex structures and had a significant impact in shaping the art to its present state of sophistication. In this article the authors focus, after a brief introduction, on total syntheses from their own laboratories that employ such processes. These examples, together with the numerous others adorning the chemical literature, illustrate amply the importance of the Wittig and related reactions and point to their continuing prominence in organic synthesis.