Abstract–An improved method for the synthesis of (-)-8a-epi-swainsonine has been developed with 9 fewer steps than the original route. The synthetic improvements include a two-step procedure for the preparation of benzyl 4-(furan-2-yl)-4-oxobutylcarbamate from pyrrolidin-2-one and a two-step procedure for the preparation of benzyl 3-((3aS, 4S, 6R, 7aR)-4-(benzyloxy)-tetrahydro-2, 2-dimethyl-7-oxo-3aH-[1, 3] dioxolo [4, 5-c] pyran-6-yl)- ...