“…The one-pot transformation of 5a into the b-bromo derivative 5c (BocNHNH 2 , ClCH 2 CH 2 Cl, 85°C, NBS, Et 3 N, Amberlyst-15, [87] ) failed 20 The situation did not improve under stepwise conditions 21 , while the known 4-bromo cyclopent-2-enone 5e [91] [92] also failed to give the desired conjugate addition, as 5l was rather isolated (dimethyl malonate, MeONa, MeOH, 40% yield) 22 Further demethoxycarbonylation (H 2 O, NMP, 155°, 97% yield) afforded 5m, a precursor of cis-11a [108 -111] (MeOH, 10% Pd/C, H 2 , 98% yield, 90:10 mixture of stereoisomers), which exhibits a typical floral, jasmine, green, elegant, and natural scent (for complementary analyses, see Supporting information). The unreported a'-substituted cyclopentenones 5i, 5j were prepared from 5a either quantitatively by equimolar addition of NBS in MeCN, catalyzed by TMSOTf at 20°C, [112]23 or by oxidation with 2.0 molequiv.…”