A series of racemic 3-phenyl-5-methyl-2H, 5H-furan-2-ones related to a natural product,(−) incrustoporine, was synthesized, and their antifungal activity evaluated. The key structural feature, furanone ring, was closed via H2SO4-mediated cyclization of 2-phenylpent-4-enoic acids. The compounds displayed antifungal activity, especially against filamentous fungi. Expressed as the minimum inhibition concentration (MIC) in μmol/L, the activity of the most ...