Total Synthesis of Bulgarein

Abstract Here we report an efficient and short total synthesis of bulgarein ( 1 ), a natural compound from Bulgaria inquinans with cytotoxic activity. Key steps in the total synthesis are a Suzuki‐Miyaura coupling reaction of two substituted naphthalene derivates followed by a polyphosphoric acid (PPA) mediated condensation reaction to form the benzo[ j ]fluoranthene skeleton. Bulgarein ( 1 ) was achieved over 4 steps with an overall yield of 25 %.