2,3,6-Tri-O-benzyl-D-myo-inositol, which is a key intermediate of D-inositol 1,4,5-triphosphate, was synthesized from D-glucose without performing any optical resolution by utilizing C2 symmetry. Laminitol and mytilitol were also synthesized from D-glucose via the same key intermediate, 1D-{1,3/2,4)-tetra-O-benzyl-2-Cmethyl-5-cyclohexene-1,2,3,4-tetrol.Since the discovery of the role of o-myo-inositol 1,4, 5-triphosphate (IP3, 1) as an intracellular second messenger for calcium mobilization,l) the biological interest in IP 3 has greatly increased. In order to explore the biochemical process, a simple, general, and efficient methodology for the chemical syntheses of 1 and its derivatives is required that will act as agonists in the phosphoinositide system. 2) The biological importance of other stereoisomers of inositol is less well established. 3 ) However, there are two known naturally-occurring Cmethyl inositols, both isolated from algae: (-)-laminitol (3) and mytilitol (4) (Chart 1). Compound 3 is especially interesting in that it has the myo-inositoltype configuration with a methyl group at C-4, and that it inhibits the growth of Neurospora crassa. 4 ) Syntheses of racemic laminitol from myo-inositol 5 ) and (-)-laminitol from toluene 6l have been reported. To date, however, for the syntheses of 1 and its derivatives, naturally occurring cyclitol derivatives, myo-inositol,7) quebrachitol,8) and quinic acid 9 ) have been mainly used as the starting materials. In general, optical resolution has been required in the case of using myo-inositol, which has a plane of symmetry. We now report on novel synthetic methods of optically active laminitol and mytilitol, as well as details concerning a communication10) about 2,3,6-tri-0-benzyl-o-myo-inositol (2) from o-glucose, respectively. (5) was prepared from o-glucose in 56% yield (3 steps) (Scheme 1). 6-Deoxyhex-5-enopyranoside derivative (6) was synthesized by the treatment of 5 with sodium iodide, tetrabutylammonium iodide, 1,8-diazabicyclo[5.4.0]undec-7-ene (DBU), and molecular sieves 4A in dimethyl sulfoxide (DMSO) at 90 DC (one-pot reaction, 63% yield). Detosylation of 6, followed by protection with a benzyl group, gave methyl 2-0-benzyl-6-deoxy-3,4-bis( 0-methoxymethyl)-Q-0-xylo-hex-5-enopyranoside (8) in 87% yield (2 steps). A Ferrier reaction of 8 gave a partially protected 2,3,4,5-tetrahydroxycyclohexanone derivative, which was treated with acetic anhydride in pyridine to give the corresponding enone derivative (9) in 77% yield (2 steps). The reduction of 9 with sodium tetrahydroborate--cerium (III) chloride in dichloromethane-ethanol (1: 2), followed by benzylation of the hydroxyl group gave the protected cyclohexenol derivative (10) in 89% yield (2 steps). Oxidation of 10, which has a C 2 symmetry axis, 11) with osmium tetraoxide gave a partially protected myo-inositol derivative (11) in 83% yield. The regioselective protection of the vicinal hydroxyl groups of 11 by using dibutyltin oxide and chloromethyl methyl ether, followed by benzylation of the remain...