A New Synthesis of 4-(4-Methyl-4-hydroxyamyl)-Δ 3 -cyclohexenecarboxaldehyde

A new synthetic route of 4-(4-methyl-4-hydroxyamyl)-Δ 3 -cyclohexenecarboxaldehyde (Lyral) from myrcene (1) was investigated. It involves subjecting 1 first to the diene synthesis with acrolein (2) followed by hydration of the morpholine enamine of the adduct in 50% sulfuric acid at 0–5° and the subsequent hydrolysis in diluted sulfuric acid at 15–20°.The present method is superior in simplicity as well as productivity for the preparation of Lyral to any other methods hitherto reported.