A concise synthesis of maleic anhydride and maleimide natural products found in Antrodia camphorata

Recently, the natural products maleic anhydride 1 and maleimides 2 and 3 have been isolated from the mycelium of Antrodia Camphorata, each displaying activity in LLC cell lines. We describe a concise synthesis of each of these natural compounds utilizing C–C cross-coupling methodology, namely, the Negishi and Suzuki reactions. This efficient and high yielding synthesis is convergent lending itself to production of medicinal analogues.