Stereoselective synthesis of all-trans methyl substituted polyenes by reductive elimination and application to the synthesis of all-trans 3-methyl-nona-2,4,6-trienol

The stereoselective synthesis of all-trans 3-methyl-nona-2,4,6-trienol 2 by reductive elimination of the corresponding 1,6-dibenzoate-2-methyl-2(Z),4(Z)-diene is described. This result shows that reductive elimination can be extended to the formation of all-trans methyl substituted polyenes which are present in many natural products biosynthetically made from isoprenic units.