Recent advances in industrial carotenoid synthesis*
Hansgeorg Ernst
Fine Chemicals Research, GVF/B B 9, BASF AG
D-67056 Ludwigshafen, Germany
Abstract: Symmetrical C40-carotenoids are
efficiently produced by double Wittig olefination of the corrresponding
C15-phosphonium salts with C10-dialdehyde. Industrial
syntheses of lycopene-, astaxanthin-, and (3R,3'R)-zeaxanthin-C15-phosphonium
salts are discussed. An efficient route to a monoprotected C10-dialdehyde
for the synthesis of unsymmetrical
C40-carotenoids is presented. Primary polyene allyl alcohols
can be converted to the corresponding aldehydes by "TEMPO"
oxidation. A high-yield synthesis of meso-zeaxanthin as an
example for syntheses of unsymmetrical carotenoids is presented.
*Lecture presented at the 13 th International Symposium
on Carotenoids, Honolulu, Hawaii, USA, 6-11 January 2002.
Other lectures are published in this issue, pp. 1369-1477.
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