A concise total synthesis of puberulic acid, a potent antimalarial agent.

Efficient and practical total synthesis of puberulic acid has been accomplished via 8 steps, with 54% overall yield, and only two C-C bond formations, without the introduction of oxygen atoms into the core skeleton. Construction of the tropolone framework as the key transformation was achieved by multi-tandem oxidation of the aliphatic-triol, from D-(+)-galactose as the starting material.