A 1:l mixture of the racemic trans-and cis-l-p-menthene-3,8-diols ((+)-3 and (It)-4, resp.) was readily prepared in 3 steps starting from 3-methyl-2-cyclohexen-I-one. The relative configuration of the diols, purified oiu the corresponding cyclocarbonates, was assigned by 'H-NMR spectroscopy and found to be at variance with tentative claims in the literature. Optically active samples of 3 and 4 were prepared by resolution of the racemates with (R)-I-phenylethylamine. The absolute configuration of the resulting diols was determined by chemical correlation with standards of known absolute configuration.
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