Divergent Total Synthesis of the Lycopodium Alkaloids Huperzine A, Huperzine B, and Huperzine U

Huperzine A, huperzine B, and huperzine U are congeners isolated from the Chinese herb Huperzia serrata (=Lycopodium serratum) in minuscule amounts. The most efficient total synthesis of huperzine A, the first asymmetric total syntheses of huperzine B, and the first total synthesis of huperzine U have been achieved efficiently in overall yields of 17%, 10%, and 9%, respectively, each spanning 10–13 steps from (R)-pulegone. The featured steps include palladium-catalyzed Buchwald–Hartwig coupling and Heck cyclization reactions and an Ir-catalyzed olefin isomerization reaction. This work has established the absolute configurations of huperzine B and huperzine U and revealed that natural huperzine A, huperzine B, and huperzine U possess the same set of absolute stereochemistries, thus providing support for the potential role of huperzine B and huperzine U in the biosynthesis of huperzine A.