Chemical transformation of protoberberines. Part 9. A biomimetic synthesis of oxychelerythrine, dihydrochelerythrine, and chelerythrine from berberine
Abstract
Fully aromatised benzo[c]phenanthridine alkaloids, oxychelerythrine (4), dihydrochelerythrine (9), and chelerythrine (10) have been efficiently synthesized from berberine (1), a protoberberine alkaloid, via oxidative C(6)–N bond cleavage, followed by recyclisation between the C-6 and C-13 positions of (1) by a biogenetic process.