Synthesis and natural occurrence of (Z/E)-β-and γ-curcumen-12-ol

(Z/E)-β-Curcumen-12-ol (Z/E)-(1) was synthesized via Birch reduction of acid 6 starting from αcurcumene (5). An olefin isomerization of 1 is the key step in the synthesis of (Z/E)-γ-curcumen12-ol (Z/E)-(2). Sesquiterpene alcohol (E)-1 was found for the first time in nature as a minor constituent of different Santalum species by using the synthetic sample as reference.