Total synthesis of (+)-acanthodoral by the use of a Pd-catalyzed metal-ene reaction and a nonreductive 5-exo-acyl radical cyclization.

[reaction: see text] The first total synthesis of the antibiotic acanthodoral (1) has been achieved from 3-methyl-2-cyclohexen-1-one in 19 steps in 2.1% overall yield. The synthesis features the use of a Pd-ene reaction in the presence of CO to form the endocyclic alkene 8, a nonreductive acyl radical cyclization reaction, and a ring contraction reaction by the Wolff rearrangement. (+)-Acanthodoral has also been synthesized starting from (+)-S-2,2-dimethyl-6-methylenecyclohexanecarboxylic acid.