Patent ID: 7737296

Claim:
A method for producing a 2-hydroxyester compound represented by the general formula (1) (provided that ethyl 2-hydroxy-4-phenylbutyrate is excluded), comprising introducing an acid into a mixture of a cyanohydrin compound represented by the general formula (2), an alcohol, an organic solvent and water to carry out a reaction in a single stage and without isolating an intermediate: (Chemical formula 1) R 1 —CH(OH)—COOR 2 (1) R 1 —CH(OH)(CN) (2) wherein, R 1 is a hydrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted aliphatic hydrocarbon group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, which may contain an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom, a substituted or unsubstituted alicyclic hydrocarbon group having 3 to 12 carbon atoms, which may contain an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom, and a substituted or unsubstituted aryl group or aralkyl group having 3 to 14 carbon atoms, which may contain an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom; and R 2 is an alkyl group having 1 to 12 carbon atoms, which may contain an oxygen atom, a sulfur atom or a nitrogen atom.