When quinone 6 was treated with diene I followed by oxidation, a 1,5-dihydroxyanthraquinone was obtained. When quinone 6 was subjected to a palladium-mediated aromatization, the reaulting bhydroxy-l,4naphthoquinone read with diene 7 followed by oxidation to produce a l,&dihydroxyanthraquinone, a key intermediate in a direct synthesis of 7-deoxyaklavinone, a known synthetic precursor of aklavinone.