Australian Rainforests—A Living Museum of Natural Product Chemical Diversity

Australian rainforests, among the oldest continuously forested ecosystems on Earth, are a 'living museum' of natural product chemical diversity. Despite covering only 0.024% of global land area, these rainforests host ~3,800 plant species from 187 families and 942 genera, with ancient biosynthetic lineages contributing to their remarkable chemical richness. While only 10% of species have been studied, they have yielded nearly 2,400 unique constituents, including highly bioactive compounds. This research highlights the significance of Australian rainforests in advancing our understanding of worldwide seed plant chemical diversity and introduces advanced NMR spectroscopic methods for identifying complex mixtures. The findings underscore the potential of these ancient ecosystems as reservoirs of high chemical diversity.

Carroll, A. R. (2025). Australian Rainforests—A Living Museum of Natural Product Chemical Diversity. Natural Product Diversity of Australian Rainforests, 1–331. https://doi.org/10.1007/978-3-031-90474-5_1