Unified approach to catechin hetero-oligomers: first total synthesis of trimer EZ–EG–CA isolated from Ziziphus jujuba

A catechin hetero-trimer isolated from Ziziphus jujuba has been synthesized. Among three constituent monomers, (−)-epiafzelechin and (−)-epigallocatechin were prepared by de novo synthesis. Trimer formation relied on the unified approach to oligomers based on the bromo-capping and the orthogonal activation, reaching the reported structure of the natural product.