A novel total synthesis of aculeatin A via a stepwise approach

Abstract

Aculeatin A, isolated from the plant Amomum aculeatum, is a dispirocyclic compound having antimalarial activity. In this paper, we describe a novel synthetic approach to aculeatin A from 1-tetradecanal in nine steps via a stepwise strategy. The key features of this approach include the 1,3-diketone preparation from Claisen condensation of ketone and acyl chloride, cyclodehydration, and intramolecular oxa-Michael addition to 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-one.