The Diels-Alder adducts derived from 2: 3-dimethoxy-o-nitrostyrene and butadiene or 2- ethoxybutadiene are transformed into 2-(2: 3-dimethoxyphenyl) cyclohexanone (VII) and 2- (2: 3-dimethoxyphenyl) cyclohexane-1: 4-dione (XV) respectively. Preliminary experiments