The acrylates of methyl β-D-arabinopyranoside and methyl β-D-ribofuranoside protected respectively as 3, 4-and 2, 3-O-methyleneacétals have been used as chiral templates in the asymmetric Diels-Alder reaction with cyclopentadiene. Sugar moieties are very stable towards Lewis acids and the arabinose derivative is very efficient for asymmetric induction.
