Progress toward the Synthesis of the Basiliolides and Transtaganolides:  An Intramolecular Pyrone Diels−Alder Entry into a Novel Class of Natural Products

Efforts directed toward the synthesis of a basiliolide/transtaganolide model system are disclosed. A highly endo-selective intramolecular pyrone Diels−Alder (IMPDA) cycloaddition rapidly constructs the tricyclic core of the basiliolides and transtaganolides.