An Improved, Concise, and Scalable Approach for the Total Synthesis of Salvianolic Acid F

Abstract

Salvianolic acid F (Sal-F) is one of the most active components in the traditional Chinese medicine Danshen, and is a key intermediate in the synthesis of salvianolic acid A (Sal-A). In this paper, a simple, efficient, and scalable route for the total synthesis of Sal-F was developed. The total synthesis of Sal-F was done through only 5 steps with high overall yield (45%). This synthetic technology was started from inexpensive materials, in which, some unpleasant reactants such as Br₂ and n-BuLi were avoided. More importantly, this protocol was also applicable for 19 gram-scale synthesis. This protocol is crucial for the synthesis of Sal-A.