Abstract Aurachins, a family of isoprenoid quinoline alkaloids isolated from the myxobacterium Stigmatella aurantiaca, possess multiple interesting bioactivities and were subject of intensive studies of biosynthesis. In this Letter, we describe the efficient few step total synthesis of the parent compound aurachin D and two isoprenoid analogues via Conrad–Limpach cyclization. The main antimicrobial and cytotoxic profiles of these ...