Two partial esters of conduritol E, namely (2R)-hydroxy-(1R,3R,4R)-tri
acetoxycyclohex-5-ene and (1S,2S)-dihydroxy-(3S,4S)-diacetoxycyclohex-
5-ene, have been prepared in high chemical and optical yields from 'be
nzene cis-glycol' diacetate via OsO4 catalysed dihydroxylation followe
d by enantioselective esterification of the resulting conduritol E dia
cetate in the presence of Mucor miehei lipase. (C) 1997 Elsevier Scien
ce Ltd.