Stereocontrolled total synthesis of polygalolide A

The total synthesis of polygalolide A, a secondary metabolite that was isolated from a Chinese medicinal plant, is reported. A key issue in this synthesis was construction of an oxabicyclo[3.2.1] skeleton, which was solved by the development of an intramolecular Ferrier-type C-glycosylation of a glucal with siloxyfuran as an internal nucleophile. The substrate was prepared from D-glucal by the introduction of trimethylsilylacetylene and siloxyfuran groups. Although C-glycosylation did not occur under the conditions found from model experiments, further examination revealed that the combination of trimethylsilyl trifluoromethanesulfonate (TMSOTf) and 2,4,6-collidine successfully afforded the desired product as a single diastereomer. The siloxy group at the C3 position played a crucial role in the stereocontrol of this reaction. The product was further transformed into a tetracyclic compound as follows: The vinyl ether and acetylenic moieties were reduced and the siloxy group was removed with a Barton-McCombie reaction. The construction of the six-membered ether and the γ-lactone provided the tetracyclic compound. Finally, a phenolic moiety was introduced by using a Mukaiyama aldol reaction to furnish polygalolide A.