“…This scenario rationalizes the nondetectable NMR signals of the 16-H 2 or 16C, 17C, and the expected couplings (e.g., between 4 and 16, 16 and 18, and 17 and 18) . Such an “open chain-ring tautomerism” has previously been reported for more simple hydroxylactones. − Continuous interconversion between the ring and the open chain tautomeric forms hampered the interpretation of the spectra. Thus, the signals of the lactone ring were only very weak (e.g., the NMR signals C2, C3, C15−C17, or 16-H 2 , see Table ).…”