| abstract |
6-Deoxy-D-fructose and 6-deoxy-L-sorbose, useful starting materials for the synthesis of 4-hydroxy-2,5-dimethyl-2,3-dihydrofuran-3-one, are obtained from fructose-1,6-diphosphate by a reaction with lactaldehyde, in the presence of an enzymatic system composed of aldolase and triose phosphate isomerase (TPI) in an aqueous medium at pH 7.0, followed by the hydrolysis of the monophosphate salt thus obtained. The same deoxy-sugars are obtained by the reaction between 1,3-dihydroxyacetone phosphate and lactaldehyde in the presence of the same enzymatic system composed of aldolase and TPI. The aforementioned deoxysugars are also prepared by the reaction of 1,3-dihydroxyacetone with lactaldehyde in the presence of an anionic exchange resin. |