Total Synthesis of Kadcoccinic Acid A Trimethyl Ester

The first total synthesis of the trimethyl ester of kadcoccinic acid A is described. The central structural element of our synthesis is a cyclopentenone motif that allows the assembly of the natural product skeleton. A gold­(I)-catalyzed cyclization of an enynyl acetate led to efficient construction of the cyclopentenone scaffold. In this step, optimization studies revealed that the stereochemistry of the enynyl acetate dictates regioisomeric cyclopentenone formation. The synthesis further highlights an efficient copper-mediated conjugate addition, merged with a gold­(I)-catalyzed Conia-ene reaction to connect the two fragments, thereby forging the D-ring of the natural product. The synthetic strategy reported herein can provide a general platform to access the skeleton of other members of this family of natural products.