Structural Reassignment of Cytosporolides A-C via Biomimetic Synthetic Studies and Reinterpretation of NMR Data

A structure revision for the recently isolated fungal meroterpenoids, cytosporolides A-C, is suggested based on biosynthetic speculation and reinterpretation of existing spectroscopic data. The structure revision is supported by a biomimetic synthetic study, featuring a [4 + 2] cycloaddition reaction between a presumed o-quinone methide intermediate and beta-caryophyllene.