Preparative synthesis of chiral alcohols by enantioselective reduction with Daucus carota root as biocatalyst

The enzymatic reduction of (±)-2-methylcyclohexanone with fresh carrot root as biocatalyst occurred in a complete diastereoisomeric way giving a 1:1 mixture of enantiomerically pure (1S,2R)- and (1S,2S)-2-methylcyclohexanol. The analogous reaction carried out on the racemic 2-hydroxycyclohexanone afforded a 1:2 mixture of (1S,2R)- and (1S,2S)-1,2-cyclohexanediol with an enantiomeric excess >95%. The low cost and the easy availability of the biocatalyst besides the very simple reaction conditions suggest the possible use of the present method for large scale preparations of important chiral alcohols.