Silvestrol is a natural product from the flavagline family, with a cyclopenta[b] benzofuran core structure and an unusual dioxane ether side chain, which is found in the bark of trees from the genus Aglaia, especially Aglaia silvestris and Aglaia foveolata.

[1] It acts as a potent and selective inhibitor of the RNA helicase enzyme eIF4A, and has both broad-spectrum antiviral activity against diseases such as Ebola and coronaviruses, [2][3][4][5][6] and anti-cancer properties,[7][8] which makes it of considerable interest in medical research.

However, as it cannot be extracted from tree bark in commercial amounts and is prohibitively complex to produce synthetically,[9] practical applications have focused more on structurally simplified analogues such as CR-31-B.

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