Synthesis of amorpha-4,11-diene from dihydroartemisinic acid.

Amorphadiene is a natural product involved in the biosynthesis of the antimalarial drug artemisinin. A convenient four-step synthesis of amorphadiene, starting from commercially available dihydroartemisinic acid, is reported. The targeted molecule is isolated with an overall yield of 85% on a multi-gram scale in four steps with only one chromatography.