Crystal structure of (5R)-5-[(1S)-1,2-di-hydroxy-eth-yl]-4-meth-oxy-3-phenyl-2,5-di-hydro-furan-2-one.

In the title compound, C13H14O5, the furan ring is essentially planar [maximum deviation = 0.031†(3)†à ] with a stereogenic center (R) at the sp (3) hybridized C atom. The C atom bearing the dihy-droxy ethyl group is S. The absolute configuration is based on the precursor in the synthesis. The two O-H groups are in an anti conformation with respect to each other. The mean plane of the furan-one group is twisted by 8.2†(4)° from that of the phenyl ring. In the crystal, mol-ecules are linked by O-H⋯O hydrogen bonds involving furan-one C=O groups and symmetry-related hy-droxy groups, forming a two-dimensional network parallel to (001). Weak C-H⋯O hydrogen bonds are observed within the two-dimensional network.