Synthesis of Taxol and Docetaxel by Using 10‐Deacetyl‐7‐xylosyltaxanes

Abstract A mixture of taxols was prepared from 10‐deacetyl‐7‐xylosyltaxanes by three‐step reactions: redox, acetylation, and deacetylation. The mixture was separated by column chromatography on silica gel to afford Taxol, Taxol B (Cephalomannine) and Taxol C. The mixture of Taxol B and Taxol C was converted to Docetaxel by Schwartz's reagent. The structures of Taxol and Docetaxel were characterized by HPLC, 1 H‐NMR, 13 C‐NMR and MS. This synthetic process has expanded the source of biomass for the chemical semi‐synthesis of Taxol and Docetaxel, reduced the production costs, and increased the biomass resource of taxanes.