Total syntheses of drimane-type sesquiterpenoids enabled by a gold-catalyzed tandem reaction

Development of a gold-catalyzed tandem reaction of 1,7-diynes with both internal and external nucleophiles was realized, which constructed five chemical bonds, two rings, and two stereogenic centers in a single step. Based on the novel cascade transformation, we achieved a unified strategy toward the stereoselective total syntheses of C-15 oxygenated drimane-type sesquiterpenoids and their analogues, which provided the natural products kuehneromycin A, antrocin, anhydromarasmone, and marasmene as a proof-of-concept study.