Synthesis of bisabolane sesquiterpenes: A Johnson-Claisen rearrangement approach

Several bisabolane sesquiterpenes, (+/-)-curcumene, (+/-)-curcuphenol, (+/-)-curcudiol and (+/-)-curcuhydroquinone, have been synthesized in racemic form and fully characterized. The salient characteristic of our approach is that a Johnson-Claisen arrangement was involved as a key step. (C) 2010 Zhen Ting Du. Published by Elsevier B.V. on behalf of Chinese Chemical Society. All rights reserved.