Total Synthesis of the Meroterpenoid Manginoid A as Fueled by a Challenging Pinacol Coupling and Bicycle‐forming Etherification

The manginoids are a unique collection of bioactive natural products whose structures fuse an oxa-bridged spirocyclohexanedione with a heavily substituted trans -hydrindane framework. Herein, we show that such architectures can be accessed through a strategy combining a challenging Pinacol coupling and bicycle-forming etherification with several additional chemo- and regioselective reactions. The success of these key events proved to be highly substrate and condition specific, affording insights for their application to other targets. As a result, not only has a 19-step total synthesis of manginoid A been achieved, but a potential roadmap to access other members of the family and related natural products has also been identified.