Bisindolyl Methane Alkaloids: Isolation, Bioactivity and Syntheses

Bis-indolyl methane (BIM) alkaloids are an important group of bioactive natural products predominantly found in marine organisms. Thus, compounds like arsindoline, vibrindole, arundine and trisindole are found in marine bacteria, while the related compound, streptindole was obtained from S. faecium IB 37, found in human faeces. In recent years, these molecules, displaying wide range of biological properties such as antibacterial, antiviral, anti-oxidant, neurotoxic, etc., have attracted attention of several synthetic and natural product chemists. This review attempts to list all the BIM analogues reported from different natural sources until now along with their biological properties and synthesis