Application of iron carbonyl complexation to the selective total synthesis of sanshools

We focused on the iron-complexes of sanshools (hydroxyl-α-sanshool, hydroxyl-β-sanshool, and γ-sanshool) as the key intermediates for the selective synthesis of these structurally unstable compounds. Consequently, we developed a concise and selective method for the total synthesis of sanshools in 5–6 steps (26–45% overall yield), including complexation of dienes with iron tricarbonyl group.