Water → Gamma-Decalactone

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

In 200 ml of 99.5% ethanol, was dissolved 24.2 g (0.10 mol) of isobutyl 4-oxodecanoate. Thereto was added 4.2 g (0.11 mol) of sodium borohydride in small quantities, and then the mixture was stirred for 10 minutes at 25° C. The solution was poured into 1 L of water, and 1 L of ethyl acetate was further added thereto followed by stirring to thereby extract the product into the ethyl acetate phase. Ethyl acetate was distilled off followed by vacuum distillation, yielding γ-decalactone (a compound in which R61 represents an n-pentyl group in the above formula (39)). Gas chromatographic analysis showed that the yield of γ-decalactone relative to isobutyl 4-oxodecanoate was 93%. In the resulting γ-decalactone, a plastic-like flavor or acid taste was not observed at all, but it had a good peach-like aroma.

Provenance & Evidence