Total Synthesis of (−)-(2R)-Dihydromyricoidine

An asymmetric synthesis of the spermidine alkaloid (?)-(2R)-dihydromyricoidine ( 5 ) was performed by employing two ring-enlargement reactions. The chiral center was introduced by a diastereoselective Michael addition of perhydropyridazine ( 7 ) to the α,β-unsaturated ester 6 . The (Z)-C?C bond was obtained by a selective Wittig reaction. The synthetic compound 5 was found to have a negative value for the specific rotation. This is in contrast to that of the natural product reported in the literature. Therefore, as an outcome of this synthesis, the absolute configuration of the natural alkaloid should be inverted to be as shown in structure V .