Nucleophilic addition of KCN to 5-O-benzoyl-1,2-O-isopropylidene-alpha-D-er
ythro-pentofuranos-3-ulose gave the xylo cyanohydrin stereoselectively. Sev
eral xylos-3-yl-1,2,4-oxadiazole derivatives were synthesized from this cya
nohydrin and were converted into 3-C-(methyl beta-D-xylofuranosid-3-yl)-5-p
henyl-1,2,4-oxadiazole. (C) 1999 Elsevier Science Ltd. All rights reserved.