Structure and Absolute Configuration of Kusunol

Abstract

A new sesquiterpenic alcohol, kusunol, has been isolated from camphor blue oil, the high boiling fraction of the essential oil of camphor tree, Cinnamomum camphora (Lauraceae). The carbon skeleton and the positions of the double bond and the tertiary hydroxyl group have been deduced from the chemical and physico-chemical studies, which, together with its transformation to α-vetivone and nootkatone, have further permitted the allocation of the absolute stereostructure I to this sesquiterpenoid.