Tw oenantioselective total syntheses of the nortriterpenoid natural product rubriflordilactone Aa re described, which use palladium-or cobalt-catalyzed cyclizations to form the CDE rings,a nd converge on al ate-stage synthetic intermediate.T hese key processes are set up through the convergent coupling of ac ommon diyne component with appropriate AB-ring aldehydes,astrategy that sets the stage for the synthetic exploration of other members of this family of natural products.

Taking advantage of a 6π electrocyclization-aromatization strategy, we accomplished the first and asymmetric total synthesis of rubriflordilactone B, a heptacyclic Schisandraceae bisnortriterpenoid featuring a tetrasubstituted arene moiety. The left-hand fragment was accessed through a chiral-pool-based route, and linked to the right-hand fragment by a Sonogashira coupling. The cis geometry of the electrocyclization substrates was established by hydrogenation or hydrosilylation of the alkyne. An electrocyclization-aromatization sequence finally built the multisubstituted arene. The hydrosilylation approach was of significant advantage in terms of reaction scale, reproducibility, and intermediate stability. The structure of synthetic rubriflordilactone B was validated by X-ray crystallographic analysis, and found to be consistent with that reported for the authentic natural product based on an independent X-ray crystallographic analysis. However, obvious differences in the NMR spectra of the synthetic and authentic samples suggest that the authentic samples subjected to X-ray crystallography and NMR spectroscopy were two different compounds.

A practical method is developed for the cleavage of catechol monomethyl ethers and o-carbonylphenyl methyl ethers using aluminum chloride and sodium iodide in acetonitrile. Acid scavengers such as 1,3-diisopropylcarbodiimide and CaO are used to prevent acid-labile functional groups from sidereactions. This method is efficient for the deprotection of various o-hydroxyphenyl methyl ethers such as acetovanillone, eugenol, guaiacol, vanillin, isovanillin and ortho-vanillin. The AlCl 3 -NaI system is less efficient than AlI 3 for the cleavage of other typical aryl alkyl ethers without a neighboring hydroxyl or carbonyl group, or for the removal of bulkier alkyl groups from catechol monoalkyl ethers. This procedure represents a convenient approach for the preparation of catechols. 2 3 4 5 6 7 8