Total Synthesis of (-)-Sigillin A: A Polychlorinated and Polyoxygenated Natural Product

The total synthesis of (−)-sigillin A, a highly chlorinated and oxygenated octahydroisocoumarin, is described herein. A hexahydroisocoumarin skeleton was constructed from (R)-4-(trichloromethyl)oxetan-2-one in seven steps. Its unique manganese oxidation provided an enone as the key intermediate of sigillin A. Stereoselective installation of two hydroxy groups and formation of gem-dichloroalkene from the corresponding ketone led to the total synthesis of (−)-sigillin A in a total of 16 steps.