Readily available sulfinyl and sulfonyl tetrahydrofuran methanol derivatives have been transformedefficiently into a variety of substituted tetrahydrofuryl alcohols by treatment with (PhSe)2 in thepresence of an excess of NaBH4. Alternatively, oxirane cleavage with MgI2 produces the relatedketones, amenable to stereocontrolled reduction. This reductive cleavage methodology has beenapplied to short formal syntheses of trans-Kumausyne and Kumausallene.
