Construction of the A/B/C core of mexicanolides via a tandem double-aldol reaction

Abstract An efficient and concise approach for rapid assembly of the ABC tricyclic carbon skeleton of mexicanolide-type limonoids is described. The acetal/ketal diketoester precursors were prepared from simple starting materials by LiOH-mediated Michael reactions. The ABC tricyclic skeleton bearing multiple stereogenic centers was efficiently constructed by a powerful one-pot cascade reaction, which includes acetal/ketal hydrolysis, double intramolecular aldol condensation, and alkene migration.