Method for producing 3-l-menthoxypropane-1,2-diol

摘要

A method for safely and efficiently producing high purity 3-l-menthoxypropane-1,2-diol and intermediates to be used in the method. As shown in the following reaction formula, 3-l-menthoxypropane-1,2-diol represented by the chemical formula (IV) is produced by adding l-menthol to a 1,2-epoxy-3-halogenopropane represented by the general formula (I) (wherein X represents a halogen atom) in an organic solvent in the presence of a Lewis acid, thereby producing a 1-halogeno-3-l-menthoxypropan-2-ol represented by the general formula (II), allowing the first intermediate to react with an alkali metal salt of an aliphatic carboxylic acid having from 1 to 5 carbon atoms to produce a 1-acyloxy-2-substituted-3-l-menthoxypropane represented by the general formula (III) and then hydrolyzing the second intermediate.