A Luche-type reduction of 69 followed by benzoylation afforded the fully synthetic galactal analogue 7'~'~ in 71% yield. Reaction of 7 with m-chloroperbenzoic acid in methanol" followed by benzoylation provided (64%) the methyl@-galactoside 87, 12, 13 (mp 201-202" C). The stage was now set to investigate the diastereotopic consequences of electrophilic attack on the trans-propenyl function. Fortunately, two key reactions occur with very high ...