A pentacyclic aromatic alkaloid, kuanoniamine A (5) was synthesized from 6-methoxybenzothiazole-4,7-dione (7) and 2-aminoacetophenone (8). Similarly, 11-hydroxyascididemin (4) was prepared from 6-bromo-4-chloro-5,8-dimethoxyquinoline (12). The structure of neocalliactine acetate, a derivative of calliactine, was determined at 19 by total synthesis from 6-methoxy-5,8-quinolinedione (23) and 2-amino-5-methoxyacetophenone (24).