o-Quinone methide based approach to isoflavans: application to the total syntheses of equol, 3′-hydroxyequol and vestitol

A concise strategy is developed for the synthesis of isoflavans employing a Diels–Alder reaction between o-quinone methides and aryl-substituted enol ethers followed by reductive cleavage of the acetal group. The method is extended towards the total syntheses of equol, 3′-hydroxyequol and vestitol.