Synthesis of antimicrobial natural products targeting FtsZ: (+/-)-dichamanetin and (+/-)-2' ''-hydroxy-5' '-benzylisouvarinol-B.

[chemical structure: see text]. Two natural products have been synthesized using a ZnCl2-mediated benzylic coupling reaction. Both are potent inhibitors of the GTPase activity of FtsZ, a highly conserved protein that is essential for bacterial cytokinesis.