Birch reduction and its application in the total
synthesis of natural products*
G.S.R. Subba Rao
Department of Organic Chemistry, Indian Institute of
Science, Bangalore 560 012, India
Abstract: The unique availability of substituted cyclohexa-1,4-
and 1,3-dienes, notably enol ethers, from Birch reduction of anisoles,
permits many novel synthetic reactions of general utility. The total
synthesis of several natural products derived from polyketides have
been accomplished using a Diels�Alder and Alder�Rickert process. The
strategies of the synthesis are discussed.
*Lecture presented at the 4th Florida Heterocyclic
Conference, Gainesville, Florida, 10-12 March 2003. Other presentations
are published in this issue, pp. 1403-1475.
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