A mixture of ethyl 3-[1-(4-benzyloxy-3-methoxybenzyl)-3-ethoxy-1H-pyrazol-4-yl]propionate (2.92 g), 5% palladium-carbon (6.00 g), ethanol (20 ml), and tetrahydrofuran (20 ml) was stirred at room temperature for one hour under a hydrogen atmosphere. After removal of the catalyst by filtration, the filtrate was concentrated. The residue was subjected to silica gel column chromatography, and ethyl 3-[3-ethoxy-1-(4-hydroxy-3-methoxybenzyl)-1H-pyrazol-4-yl]propionate (2.04 g, yield: 89%) was obtained as a colorless oily substance from the fraction eluted with ethyl acetate-hexane (1:1, volume ratio).
