First synthesis of parazoanthine-A and its O-Me derivative

Parazoanthine A (7.0% overall yield) and its O-methyl derivative (6.2% overall yield) were prepared by a concise biomimetic synthesis based on the coupling reaction of L-arginine methyl ester dihydrochloride with isocyanate derivatives of p-coumaric acid and 4-methoxy-cinnamic acid, respectively. The synthetic approach is designed to obtain a wider class of parazoanthine analogs. (C) 2012 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.