Conjugate Addition of Lithium <i>N</i>-Phenyl-<i>N</i>-(α-methylbenzyl)amide: Application to the Asymmetric Synthesis of (<i>R</i>)-(−)-Angustureine

The conjugate addition of lithium (R)-N-phenyl-N-(α-methylbenzyl)amide to a range of α,β-unsaturated 4-methoxyphenyl esters proceeds with excellent levels of diastereoselectivity to give the corresponding β-amino esters in good yield and as single diastereoisomers (>99:1 dr). The synthetic utility of this methodology has been demonstrated via the short and concise asymmetric synthesis of the tetrahydroquinoline alkaloid (R)-(−)-angustureine in six steps and 32% overall yield from commercially available oct-2-enoic acid.