The therapeutic properties of
Curcuma
(ginger
and turmeric’s family) have long been known in traditional
medicine. However, only recently have guaiane-type sesquiterpenes
extracted from
Curcuma phaeocaulis
been
submitted to biological testing, and their enhanced bioactivity was
highlighted. Among these compounds, phaeocaulisin A has shown remarkable
anti-inflammatory and anticancer activity, which appears to be tied
to the unique bridged acetal moiety embedded in its tetracyclic framework.
Prompted by the promising biological profile of phaeocaulisin A and
by the absence of a synthetic route for its provision, we have implemented
the first enantioselective total synthesis of phaeocaulisin A in 17
steps with 2% overall yield. Our route design builds on the identification
of an enantioenriched lactone intermediate, tailored with both a ketone
moiety and a conjugated alkene system. Taking advantage of the umpolung
carbonyl-olefin coupling reactivity enabled by the archetypal single-electron
transfer (SET) reductant samarium diiodide (SmI
2
), the
lactone intermediate was submitted to two sequential SmI
2
-mediated cyclizations to stereoselectively construct the polycyclic
core of the natural product. Crucially, by exploiting the innate inner-sphere
nature of carbonyl reduction using SmI
2
, we have used a
steric blocking strategy to render sites SET-unreceptive and thus
achieve chemoselective reduction in a complex substrate. Our asymmetric
route enabled elucidation of the naturally occurring isomer of phaeocaulisin
A and provides a synthetic platform to access other guaiane-type sesquiterpenes
from
C. phaeocaulis
—as well
as their synthetic derivatives—for medicinal chemistry and
drug design.