Patent ID: 6372922
Filing Date: 2002-04-16
Classification: C07D

Abstract:
A process for production of (âˆ’)3,4-divanillyl tetrahydrofuran of formula (2) (2) said process comprising (a) extracting the pulverized heartwoods/roots of T. wallichiana with an alcohol at ambient temperature and concentrating the solvent to obtain an alcoholic extract, (b) treating the alcoholic extract with water and extracting it with a chlorinated solvent exhaustively (c) concentrating the chlorinated solvent to a residue and treating the resultant residue with aqueous solution of a base and extracting the alkaline layer with an organic solvent (d) neutralizing the alkaline solution with mineral acid and extracting with an organic solvent, (e) concentrating the organic solvent to a residue and crystallizing it from a suitable organic solvent or mixtures of such solvents to get (âˆ’) secoisolariciresinol of formula (1) (f) dissolving the isolated (âˆ’) secoisolariciresinol in an organic solvent, reacting it with triphenyl phosphine halide at 0-80Â° C. for 1-10 hours and (g) isolating (âˆ’) 3,4-divanillyl tetrahydrofuran of formula (2) by column chromatography.