Highly convergent total synthesis of (+)-lithospermic acid via a late-stage intermolecular C-H olefination.

The total synthesis of (+)-lithospermic acid is reported, which exploits two successive C-H activation reactions as key steps. Rh-catalyzed carbene C-H insertion reaction utilizing Davies's catalyst was used to forge dihydrobenzofuran core, and a late-stage intermolecular C-H olefination coupled the olefin unit with the dihydrobenzofuran core to construct the molecule in a highly convergent manner.