Stereoanalysisof the Antiparasitic Natural ProductCallunene and Its Synthetic Intermediates

The recent popularity of indoor farming has brought about problems with parasites spreading among pollinator colonies. The natural product callunene (<b>1</b>) can be used in the prophylaxis of bumblebees against <i>Crithidia</i> infection. Here, we report the synthesis of callunene (<b>1</b>), its enantioseparation, and a method for analyzing its optical purity. The approach was applied to determine the configuration of callunene extracted from heather honey. The proposed method is also applicable to the analysis of mixtures of diastereomers obtained during callunene synthesis, which allows the stereospecificity of individual reaction steps to be determined.