An efficient synthesis of antitumor marine natural product (+)-pericosine A was achieved from (-)-quinic acid in 11.7% overall yield, which is 20 times better than our previously reported synthesis. The crucial steps of this synthesis include the regio- and stereoselective bromohydrination of an unstable diene and the ring opening of an epoxide. This synthetic route was applicable to a synthesis of (+)-pericosine C and also to a synthesis of (-)-pericosine C.

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The first synthesis of (-)-pericosine E (6), a metabolite of the Periconia byssoides OUPS-N133 isolated originally from the sea hare Aplysia kurodai, has been achieved. Efficient and regioselective synthetic procedures for the synthesis of key intermediates, anti- and syn-epoxides 9 and 10, were developed using an anti-epoxidation of diene 12 with TFDO and a bromohydrination of 12 with NBS in CH(3)CN/H(2)O (2:3), respectively. In addition, comparison of the specific optical rotations between synthetic 6 and natural 6 elucidated that the naturally preferred enantiomer of pericosine E had the same absolute configuration as (-)-6 synthesized from chlorohydrin (-)-8 and anti-epoxide (+)-9.

A combination of chemical synthesis and NMR methods was used to reassign the structure of pericosine D(o) (8), a cytotoxic marine natural product produced by the fungus Periconia byssoides OUPS-N133 that was originally derived from the sea hare Aplysia kurodai. Chemical synthesis was used to prepare pericoisne D(o) (8) from a known chlorohydrin that was in turn derived from (-)-quinic acid. The absolute configuration of natural pericosine D(o) (8) was determined to be methyl (3R,4S,5S,6S)-6-chloro-3,4,5-trihydroxy-1-cyclohexene-1-carboxylate. HPLC analyses using a chiral-phase column indicated that pericosine D(o) (8) exists in an enantiomerically pure form in nature.

The stereoselective synthesis of (-)-pericosine B, which is the antipode of the cytotoxic metabolite of the fungus Periconia byssoides OUPS-N133 separated from the sea hare, was accomplished in 9 steps in 12% total yield from (-)-quinic acid, together with the synthesis of its epimer. Every crucial step of this total synthesis, including ring opening of a beta-epoxide and NaBH4 reduction of an unstable beta,gamma-unsaturated enone, proceeded with excellent stereoselectivity.