Intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction of dinitro-olefin derivatives of furan for the preparation of a versatile tool: 3,7-dinitro-11-oxatricycloundec-9-ene
furfuraldehyde followed by an intramolecular Diels-Alder reaction allowed the obtention of the title compound 1 in good yield with excellent stereoselectivity. Aromatization, ethercleavage and stereocontrolled oxidation reactions give evidence of the synthetic versatility of this adduct in the preparation of ergot alkaloids and valienamine bicyclic analogues.