Synthetic neovibsanes and their ability to induce neuronal differentiation in PC12 cells

A series of neovibsanin A and B derivatives and lower homologues were synthesized to study their neurotrophic ability with PC12 cells. 4,5-Bis-epi-neovibsanin A displayed prominent ability to induce neurite outgrowth compared to control cultures. Herein we describe the total synthesis of 4,5-bis-epi-neovibsanin A and B as well as comparing the biological activity of several neovibsane derivatives.