Inside Cover: Asymmetric Total Synthesis of Propindilactone G, Part 1: Initial Attempts towards the Synthesis of Schiartanes (Chem. Asian J. 9/2016)

A concise total synthesis of (+)‐propindilactone G , a nortriterpenoid isolated from the stems of Schisandra propinqua var . propinqua , has been achieved for the first time. The key steps include an asymmetric Diels–Alder reaction, a Pauson–Khand reaction, a Pd‐catalyzed reductive hydrogenolysis reaction, and an oxidative heterocoupling reaction. These reactions enabled the synthesis in only 20 steps. As a consequence of our synthetic studies, the structure of propindilactone G has been revised. More information can be found in their Full Papers on pages 1406, 1414, and 1425 by Zhen Yang and Jia‐Hua Chen et al. in Issue 9, 2016 (DOI: 10.1002/asia.201600129, 10.1002/asia.201600130, 10.1002/asia.201600131.).