The catalytic oxidation of 2
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,4
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-dimethyl-8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]oct-6-en-3-one with osmium tetraoxideand excess hydrogen peroxide resulted in the formation of 2
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,4
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-dimethyl-6,7-
exo-isopropylidenedioxy-8-oxabicyclo[3.2.1]octan-3-one (
2), with 91% yield. Addition of aryllithium reagents to thiscompound resulted in the formation of the aromatic alcohols (
6a-
h) with 48-76% yield. Thesealcohols were treated with thionyl chloride in pyridine, and the corresponding alkenes (
7a-
h) wereobtained with 46-80% yield. The effect of compounds
6a-
h and
7a-
h on the root growth of
Sorghumbicolor was evaluated at a concentration of 6.6
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g g
-1. The alcohols
6a-
h caused an inhibitoryeffect (8-100%) on the
S. bicolor radicle growth. The three most active compounds were
6e (aryl =
p-methylphenyl),
6g (aryl =
p-chlorophenyl), and
6h (aryl =
p-fluorophenyl) and caused 100%inhibition. The effect of alkenes
7a-
h was less pronounced and varied from 15% to 46% inhibition.Another experiment was carried out in a greenhouse to evaluate the effect of alcohols
6e,
6g, and
6h, at a 6.6
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g g
-1 dose, against
Cucumis sativus,
S. bicolor and the weeds
Bidens pilosa,
Desmodiumtortuosum, and
Pennisetum setosum. All three compounds showed an inhibitory effect on thedevelopment of the aerial parts (26-73%) and roots (13-79%) of the weeds and crops.Keywords: [3 + 4] cycloaddition; herbicides; plant growth regulators; weeds