Dedicated to Professor Tadeus Rrichstrin on the occasion of his 90th birthday (10.V11.87)The oxidation of cedrol (l), p-and y-eudesmol(6 and 7, resp.), sclareol(14), manoyl oxide ( 1 3 , 1,9-didcoxyforskolin (22) (+)-methyl trans-dihydrojasmonate (28), and tetrahydrolinalool(32), nearly all of natural terpenoid origin, by the 'Gifsystem' has afforded a number of novel products (3, 11, and 12, 16/17, 18/19, 26, 29-31, and ketones corresponding to 34-35, resp.). The structures of these compounds were established by spectroscopic techniques including 2D-NMR and, wherc appropriate, by comparison with authentic samples.Introduction. -In the preceding parts of this series [l-61, we reported our findings on the oxidation of saturated hydrocarbons by the 'Gifsystem'. This process, especially in its most elaborate form (catalytic amounts of iron cluster Fe,O(OAc),Pyr, 5, Zn powder, AcOH, pyridine, and air at room temperature) was successfully applied to a variety of simple hydrocarbons [2] [3] and then to more complex molecules such as steroids [4] [5] and terpenoids [l] [6]. As a rule, this oxidising system leads to the formation of ketones as major products, i.e. selective attack on secondary positions. This regioselectivity is rather unusual when compared with other oxidising processes. A noticeable exception was observed in the case of cholestane derivatives where the important side-chain cleavage to give 20-ketones competed with the oxidation of the methylenes of the steroidal nucleus [4]