Synthesis of stegobiol and its oxidation to stegobinone, the components of the female-produced sex pheromone of the drugstore beetle

Article abstract of DOI:10.1002/(SICI)1099-0690(199806)1998:6<1135::AID-EJOC1135>3.0.CO;2-K

Crystalline (-)-stegobinone [(2S,3R,1′R)]-2,3-dihydro-2,3,5-trimethyl-6-(1′-methyl-2′- oxobutyl)-4H-pyran-4-one (1)], the major component of the female-produced sex pheromone of the drugstore beetle (Stegobium paniceum L.), was synthesized by oxidation of crystalline and the minor component (-)-stegobiol [(2S,3R,1′S,2′S)-2,3-dihydro-2,3,5-trimethyl-6-(2′-hydroxy- 1′-methylbutyl)-4H-pyran-4-one (2)] under the appropriate conditions using Jones's chromic acid, Dess-Martin's periodinane or Ley's ruthenium reagent. The latter (2) was synthesized by employing lipase and the Sharpless epoxidation for the introduction of the proper chiral centers. The streostructure of 1 was comfirmed by X-ray analysis.