Phthalide isoquinoline alkaloid synthesis

Preformed cyclic /V,A-dialkyliminium salts i.e. where a ring Joins the a-caibon and positively charged nitrogen) have been used in enolate condensation reactions. The number of examples, however, is rather limited, probably because of complications arising through abstraction of enolizable protons. A -Dehy-droindolizidinium salt (69) represents one of the few examples of an enolizable, cyclic A, -dialkylimi-nium salt known to react with an enolate (equation 8). The use of a soft zinc enolate in this reaction may be crucial. The relative stereochemistry of the resulting 3-amino ester (70) is undefined. /V-Alkyl-3,4-dihydroisoquinolinium salts e.g. 71), a class of nonenolizable, cyclic iminium salts, have had extensive applications in the total synthesis of protoberberine and phthalide isoquinoline alkaloids. A review by Pai and coworkers has covered much of this work. In a more recent application by Yamazaki and co-... 

A route for the synthesis of phthalide-isoquinoline alkaloids from Reissert compounds has been reported. The Reissert compound (111) reacts with methyl opianate in the presence of sodium hydride to give the isoquinoline (112), hydrolysis of which yields dehydrohydrastine (113) this can be reduced in... 

The phthalides occur in several natural products . They are also intermediates for the synthesis of a variety of natural products like naphthols, anthraquinone natural products, anthracyclic antibiotics, the phthalide isoquinolines, protoberberine alkaloids etc. 

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