First total synthesis of paracaseolide A.

The first total synthesis of the paracaseolide A, a very unusual tetraquinane oxa-cage bislactone recently isolated from the mangrove Sonneratia paracaseolaris, has been achieved. The final step and culmination of the eight-step synthetic sequence is a [4 + 2] dimerization of a 4-hydroxybutenolide, generated by singlet oxygen-mediated oxidation of a furan precursor.