Abstract The enantiomerically pure diastereoisomers (1 R, 4 S, 4a R, 7 S, 7a R)-(1) and (1 R, 4 R, 4a R, 7 S, 7a R)-dihydronepetalactol (2) were synthesized diastereoselectively from a renewable resource,(4a S, 7 S, 7a R)-nepetalactone (3), isolated as the main constituent of the essential oil of the catmint plant Nepeta cataria. The stereochemistry of the compounds was determined by NMR spectroscopy and X-ray crystallography, and the compounds ...