Total synthesis of (+)-brefeldin C, (+)-nor-Me brefeldin A and (+)-4-epi-nor-Me brefeldin A

A total synthesis of (+)-brefeldin C (BFC) and two brefeldin A (BFA) analogues - (+)-nor-Me BFA and (+)-4-epi-nor-Me BFA - has been developed. Key features of the syntheses include desymmetrization of meso anhydrides, a Carreira reaction to control the absolute configuration at C4 of BFC, a Suzuki-Miyaura cross-coupling reaction to create the C11-C12 bond and a Yamaguchi reaction to form the 13-membered lactone ring.