Total synthesis of (-)-incarvilline and (-)-incarvillateine

An enantioselective, concise total synthesis of (-)-incarvilline and (-)-incarvillateine has been achieved in longest linear 9 steps (24.3% overall yield) and in 11 steps (16.5% overall yield) from (-)-carvone, respectively. The present synthesis features a notable Favorskii rearrangement of the O-protected chlorchydrin derivative of (-)-carvone to construct four of the five contiguous stereocenters on the bicyclic piperidine moiety and DMAP-catalyzed esterification of incarvilline with alpha-truxillic acid anhydride to generate incarvillateine skeleton. (C) 2009 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.