New Caledonia: A ‘ Hot Spot’ for Valuable Chemodiversity

The flora of New Caledonia encompasses more than 3000 plant species and almost 80% are endemic. New Caledonia is considered as a ‘hot spot’ for biodiversity. With the current global loss of biodiversity and the fact that several drugs and pesticides become obsolete, there is an urgent need to increase sampling and research on new natural products. In this context, we review the chemical knowledge available on New Caledonian native flora from economical perspectives. We expect that a better knowledge of the economic potential of plant chemistry will encourage the plantation of native plants for the development of a sustainable economy which will participate in the conservation of biodiversity. In the second part of this review, we focus on the results exposed in 60 scientific articles and describe the identification of 225 original compounds from basal angiosperms and eudicot rosids. We discuss the economic potential of plants and molecules from medicinal and industrial perspectives. This review also highlights several plants and groups, such as Amborella sp., Piperaceae, or Phyllanthaceae, that are unexplored in New Caledonia despite their high chemical interest. Those plants are considered to have priority in future chemical investigations.