An Improved Total Synthesis of (±) - Podocarpic Acid by a Cyclialkylation Route

Abstract

A number of total syntheses of (±) - podocarpic acid (i) have been described¹ King, King and Topliss² first identified one of the products from nonstereo-selective cyclization of (4) with polyphosphoric acid as (±)- ethyl-O-methylpodocarpate (2) and correlated that with the corresponding acid (3), prepared in an extremly poor yield (ca 0.4%)³ by Bhattacharyya³, and Haworth and Moore⁴ by cyclization of (5) with a mixture of sulfuric acid and acetic acid. More recently Mancini, Fringuelli and Taticchi⁵ prepared (3) (in 4.8% yield) by repeating Howorth¹ s cyclization of (4). In continuation of our studies on cyclialky-