First diastereoselective synthesis of methyl caffeoyl- and feruloyl-muco-quinates

We report on a diastereoselective synthesis of six derivatives of caffeoyl- and feruloyl-muco-quinic acids. All the muco-quinic acid derivatives were obtained in excellent yield in five steps starting from quinic acid, caffeic acid and ferulic acid. Allyl ether protection of trans-hydroxy cinnamic acids was here introduced to chlorogenic acids synthesis. We show that muco-quinic acid derivatives, which are formally diastereoisomers of chlorogenic acids, can be readily distinguished by their tandem mass spectra.