Acetic Anhydride → Alpha-Tocopherol Acetate

Participants

Reaction Steps

The condensation of trimethylhydroquinone monoacetate (TMHQ-MA) with isophytol is described in DE-OS 2 160 103 (=U.S. Pat. No. 3,789,086). With the use of Fe (II) Cl2 and hydrochloric acid and simultaneous removal of the water of reaction, only small quantities of α-tocopherol acetate are obtained and it is necessary to acetylate subsequently with amine catalysis and addition of hyperstoichiometric quantities of acetic anhydride. The yields are unsatisfactory, the two-step procedure is expensive and the necessity of reacting with hyperstoichiometric quantities of acetic anhydride to obtain vitamin E acetate entails a high consumption of chemicals. The working-up of the catalyst phase obtained after the reaction is not dealt with.

Provenance & Evidence