Chemical Synthesis of Aspidosperma Alkaloids Inspired by the Reverse of the Biosynthesis of the Rhazinilam Family of Natural Products

Pyrrole reduction: Iterative metal-catalyzed CH functionalization reactions facilitated the preparation of a highly substituted pyrrole derivative. This derivative could be transformed into the pyrrole-containing secondary metabolite, rhazinilam, which could in turn be transformed through a reductive transannular cascade process into the structurally complex pyrrolidine-containing alkaloid natural product, aspidospermidine.