The first total syntheses of the geranylated pyranocoumarins, mameasins C (1) and D (2), aromatase inhibitors isolated from the flowers of Mammea siamensis, were accomplished in five steps, starting from phloroglucinol 3. In this strategy, the characteristic pyran ring-fused coumarin core of 1 and 2 was effectively constructed by Friedel-Crafts acylation of 3, followed by Reformatsky reaction of the resultant ketone to give a key coumarin intermediate 9. Compound 9 was converted to targets 1 and 2 in a stepwise manner by successive C-acylation and O-geranylation, followed by a [1,3]-sigmatropic geranyl shift. Furthermore, screening of intermediates obtained in the synthetic pathway to 1 and 2 revealed that de-geranylated pyranocoumarins (10 and 11) show superior aromatase inhibitory activity as compared to the natural products 1 and 2.Download high-res image (98KB)Download full-size image