Microwave-assisted rapid cyclization of lapachol, a main constituent of Heterophragma adenophyllum

Cyclization reactions of lapachol (1) isolated from Heterophragma adenophyllum have been studied under microwave irradiation under different conditions using alumina (acidic, basic and neutral)/silica gel/montmorillonite (KSF and K-10) as solid support along with neat reaction using 2-3 drops of DMF giving naturally occurring dehydro-alpha-lapachone (2), alpha-lapachone (3), beta-lapachone (4) depending upon the nature of support and irradiation time. A novel naphthoquinone derivative adenophyllone (5) can be synthesized from lapachol using DMF under microwaves.