Asymmetric total synthesis of novel pentacyclic indole alkaloid, kopsiyunnanine E, isolated from Kopsia arborea

A new pentacyclic indole alkaloid, kopsiyunnanine E, was isolated from Yunnan Kopsia arborea, and its structure, which was inferred from spectroscopic data, was established by a 16-step asymmetric total synthesis that proved that the natural alkaloid was not enantiomerically pure.