First Total Synthesis of (-)-Pericosine A from (-)-Shikimic Acid: Structure Revision and Determination of the Absolute Configuration of Antitumor Natural Product Pericosine A

The first total synthesis of (-)-pericosine A, methyl (3R,4R,5R,6R)-6-chloro-3,4,5-trihydroxy-1-cyclohex-1-enecarboxylate, from (-)-shikimic acid was accomplished, which led to the revision of the relative configuration and the determination of the absolute configuration of the natural product as 3S,4S,5S,6S.