2616
S. Bouzbouz et al. / Tetrahedron Letters 45 (2004) 2615–2617
enantioselective allyltitanium complex (R,R)-I (ether,
CM
O
Wittig
S
)78 °C). Treatment of allylic alcohol 5 with acryloyl
chloride (i-Pr2NEt, CH2Cl2 )78 °C), produced the cor-
responding ester 6 in 96% yield, which after a ring-
closing metathesis reaction, induced by GrubbsÕ catalyst
II10 (CH2Cl2, reflux 12 h), furnished lactone 7 in 23%
yield. The spectroscopic data of 7 were identical to those
of the natural product A except for the specific rotation
O
O
RCM
H
OH
CM
2
O
A
allyltitanation
Ph
Ph
(½aꢀ ꢁ 32° c 0.10, EtOH), which has the opposite sign of
O
O
Ti
O
D
O
+
the specific rotation reported for the extracted natural
compound A. We were thus forced to re-examine the
assignment of the absolute configuration of the natural
lactone A.
H
OH
O
Ph
Ph
1
(R,R)-I
Re-examination of SnatzkeÕs rules,11 modified by Bee-
cham,12 led us to re-attribute the (R) absolute configu-
ration at C5 for the natural compound A. In fact,
unsaturated six-membered lactones substituted at C5,
which show a positive Cotton effect in their CD spec-
trum, (due to the carbonyl n–pꢂ transition) have (R)
absolute configurations.11–13 The chromophoric enone
side chain (weak n–pꢂ at kmax around 310–330 nm) can
adopt different conformations but the energy difference
between these conformations is small and their contri-
butions to the Cotton effect are substantially compen-
sated.11
Scheme 1.
O
H
O
CO2Et
O
3'
+
a
b
OH
1
OH
2
EtO
O
3
4
c
OH
O
d
H
In conclusion, the synthesis of (S)-(50-oxoheptene-
O
O
5
10E,30E-dienyl)-5,6-dihydro-2H-pyran-2-one
7
was
e
accomplished in seven steps and with good enantiomeric
excess, from pent-1-en-3-ol. We also conclude that the
natural compound A has the (R) absolute configuration
at C5, implying that the natural compound B has the (S)
absolute configuration at C5.
O
O
O
O
f
O
O
6
7
N
N
PCy
Ru
3
Cl
Cl
Cl
Acknowledgements
Ru
Cl
Ph
O
PCy
3
We wish to thank the CNRS for financial support.
Hoveyda's catalyst
Grubbs' catalyst II
Scheme 2. Reagents and conditions: (a) acrolein, HoveydaÕs catalyst
(3 mol %), CH2Cl2, 25 °C, 80%; (b) Ph3PCHCO2Et, toluene, 110 °C; (c)
(i) Dibal-H, CH2Cl2, )78 °C; (ii) MnO2, CH2Cl2, rt, 15% from 2; (d)
(R,R)-I, ether, )78 °C, 4 h, 50%; (e) acryloyl chloride, i-Pr2NEt,
CH2Cl2, )78 °C, 96%; (f) GrubbsÕ catalyst II, (5 mol %), refluxing
CH2Cl2, 12 h, 23%.
References and notes
1. Carmona, D.; Saez, J.; Granados, H.; Perez, E.; Angulo,
ꢀ
A.; Blair, S.; Figadere, B. Nat. Prod. Res. 2003, 17, 275.
2. Matsuda, M.; Endo, Y.; Fushiya, S.; Endo, T.; Nozoe, S.
Heterocycles 1994, 38, 1229.
3. Cossy, J.; Pradaux, F.; BouzBouz, S. Org. Lett. 2001, 3,
2233.
4. BouzBouz, S.; Cossy, J. Tetrahedron Lett. 2003, 44, 4471.
5. BouzBouz, S.; Cossy, J. Org. Lett. 2003, 5, 1995; Additions
Corrections Org. Lett. 2003, 5, 3365.
6. Hafner, A.; Duthaler, R. O.; Marti, R.; Rihs, J.; Rothe-
Streit, P.; Schwarzenbach, F. J. Am. Chem. Soc. 1992, 114,
2321.
7. Cossy, J.; Bouzbouz, S.; Hoveyda, A. H. J. Organomet.
Chem. 2001, 624, 327.
stabilized ylide ethyl (triphenylphosphoranylidene)ace-
tate, in toluene at 110 °C. Under these conditions, the
reaction was not stereoselective and the dienes 3 (E/E)
and 30 (Z/E) were obtained in a 4 to 1 ratio. These two
dienes were separated by flash chromatography on silica
gel. Aldehyde 4, which will allow the control of the C5
stereogenic center present in A, was prepared in two
steps from 3. After reduction of 3 by Dibal-H (CH2Cl2,
)78 °C), the resulting diol was directly oxidized by
MnO2 (CH2Cl2, 25 °C), and the (E)-aldehyde 4 was
isolated in an overall yield of 15% from 2. Aldehyde 4
was then transformed into the desired (S) homoallylic
alcohol 59 in 50% yield by using the chemoselective and
8. Spectroscopic data for compound 2:
1H NMR (CDCl3,) d: 9.38 (d, J ¼ 8:1 Hz, 1H); 6.60 (dd,
J ¼ 15:8 and 4.4 Hz, 1H); 6.02 (ddd, J ¼ 16:2, 8.1, and
1.5 Hz, 1H); 4.06 (q apparent, J ¼ 5:5 Hz, 1H); 3.46 (s
large, OH); 1.46–1.21 (m, 2H); 0.73 (t, J ¼ 7:4 Hz, 3H) 13
C