First Synthesis and Characterization of Stereoisomers of Choleretic Drug Dihydroxydibutylether

Abstract

Dihydroxydibutylether (DHBE) is a choleretic drug used for the treatment of gallstone and hepatic disorders due to its choleretic activity and hepatoprotective action. The drug is a mixture of three regioisomers. The main regioisomer 3-(3-hydroxylbutoxy)-1-butanol (III) contains four stereoisomers, including (R)-3-((R)-3-hydroxylbutoxy)-1-butanol (IIIa), (R)-3-((S)-3-hydroxylbutoxy)-1-butanol (IIIb), (S)-3-((R)-3-hydroxylbutoxy)-1-butanol (IIIc) and (S)-3-((S)-3-hydroxylbutoxy)-1-butanol (IIId). In this paper, the four stereoisomers are synthesized separately for the first time.