Adventures in heterocycle chemistry: The oxa-Michael cascade for the synthesis of complex natural products and highly functionalized bioactive compounds

This is an account of the award lecture given by Stcfan Brase on the occasion of the ISCB AWARD FOR EXCELLENCE 2009 of the Indian Society of Chemical Biologists, held in Delhi in January 2009. The domino reaction between salicylaldehydes and α,β-unsaturated aldeliydes is a common method to obtain a great variety of oxygen-heterocycles like cannabinoids, chromenes, and coumarins. This reaction enables also the synthesis of mycotoxins such as diversonol, the blennolides and secalonic acids.