Total synthesis of herboxidiene, a complex polyketide from Streptomyces species A7847

Abstract

A formal total synthesis of the polyketide herboxidiene (1) has been achieved by Homer-Wittig coupling of the side-chain fragment 12-epi-(2) with the tetrahydropyran-2-acetic acid derivative (3) followed by desilylation of the resulting triene (19) and hydroxyl-directed mono-epoxidation of the ensuing bis-homoallylic alcohol (20).