Synthesis of β-Lapachone, a Potential Anticancer Agent from the Lapacho Tree.

A pharmaceutically important natural product, β-lapachone, was efficiently synthesized in four steps in 70 % overall yield starting from commercially available 1,4-naphthoquinone. The key step of the synthesis was the direct conversion of 2-prenyl-1,4-naphthoquinone into β-lapachone through an advantageous cyclization/hydration/oxidation cascade process. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]