Stereoselective Synthesis of Swainsonines from Pyridines

Zusammenfassung

An efficient synthesis of (-)-swainsonine and (-)-2,8a-di-epi-swainsonine was developed starting from readily available 2-pyridinecarbaldehyde and 3-hydroxypyridine. In particular, it was demonstrated that the mixture of simple indolizidines, i.e. lentiginosine and epi-lentiginosine, being readily available by a number of different synthetic routes, can be directly converted to swainsonine. (C) 2004 Elsevier Ltd. All rights reserved.