Palladium-catalyzed transformations of salvinorin A, a neoclerodane diterpene from Salvia divinorum

Transformations that selectively modify the furan ring present in a variety of naturals products would be useful in the synthesis of biological probes but remain largely underexplored. The neoclerodane diterpene salvinorin A, isolated from Salvia divinorum, is an example of a furan-containing natural product. Following selective bromination of salvinorin A, Suzuki-Miyaura and Sonogashira couplings were accomplished in moderate to good yields without hydrolyzing the labile C-2 acetate or altering the stereochemistry of the epimerizable centers.