We disclosed herein a diastereoselective approach for the total syntheses of (±)-Leiocarpin A and (±)-Goniodiol. These biologically active styryl lactones were obtained from a common intermediate, prepared in five steps and 40% overall yield, using a simple synthetic sequence starting from a Morita–Baylis–Hillman adduct. The total syntheses of these styryl lactones were accomplished in nine steps. This is the first report on the total synthesis of ...