A Rapid Synthetic Approach to the ABCD Core of the Stemona Alkaloids.

A new Lewis acid-assisted Brønsted acid cascade approach for the stereoselective formation of the tetracyclic Stemona alkaloid skeleton is described in five steps from epoxide 15. Crucially, this tetracyclic product can be accessed as either C13 epimer, potentially serving as intermediates for the synthesis of a range of Stemona alkaloids.