The morphan core is central to strychnan alkaloid synthesis and is typically formed during the middle or later stages of the process. Now it has been shown that an allene/ketone-equipped morphan core can be constructed early in the synthesis through ketone α-allenylation and then used to introduce other rings and functionalities, enabling access to nine targets including strychnine and geissolosimine.
- Wenqiang Zhou
- Song Xi
- Min Zhang
