Abstract Oxidation of 4, 6-heptadienoic acid systems with hydrogen peroxide in the presence of a catalytic amount of diphenyl diselenide leads to 5-(3-hydroxypropenyl) dihydrofuran-2-one systems with defined relative configuration at the 4 and 7 positions (carboxylic acid numbering). A system having a six-membered ring as part of the s-trans- diene system was an intermediate in a strigol total synthesis; a second system lacking the ...
