Abstract Carba analogues 1, 14, 15 and 16 of Strigol were synthesised in which the vinyl ether oxygen is replaced by methylene. Compound 1 was prepared by the Wittig reaction of ylid 2 with aldehyde 3. Compounds 14, 15 and 16, for which this approach failed, were prepared by reaction of aldehyde 20 with lactones 17, 18 and 19, respectively, using the method of Tanaka et al. 35, 36, or with phosphonates 32 and 33, in a Wittig-Horner ...
