Synthesis of hemigossypol and its derivatives

Hemigossypol (3), a sesquiterpene natural product, was previously isolated from Gossypium barbadense and was shown to display improved anti-fungal activity compared to gossypol (1), the disesquiterpene dimer of hemigossypol (3). Gossypol exhibits multiple biological activities. In order to study whether hemigossypol and its derivatives retain the various bioactivities of gossypol, we developed a short and convenient synthetic scheme to synthesize hemigossypol. This is the first de novo synthesis of this natural product. In addition derivatives of hemigossypol with various 2,5-alkyl substituents were synthesized. Modification of the synthetic scheme also afforded the natural product hemigossylic lactone (4) and its 2,5-substituted derivatives.