Kirin Beer Kabushiki Kaisha

Masayuki Sakakibara

Shinichiro Kato

Yuzi Munezuka

Yasushi Nii

A use of the pyrrolidone derivative represented by the following formula [I] as an anti-amnesitc agent: ##STR1## wherein R represents a group ##STR2## X represents --SO.sub.2 -- or --CO--; R' represents a hydrogen atom, a lower alkyl group, a trifluoromethyl group, a halogen atom or a nitro group; n denotes an integer of 1-5; and, when n is an integer of 2 or more, R' may be the same or different, provided that

Treating amnesia with a pyrrolidone derivative

There is provided a process for producing an optically active 2-phenoxypropionic acid, which comprises allowing an optically active lactic ester represented by the following formula (I) to react with a phenol represented by the following formula (II) in the copresence of a reagent A and a reagent B defined below to form an optically active 2-phenoxypropionic ester represented by the following formula (III), and liberating an optically active 2-phenoxypropionic acid represented by the following formula (IV) from the optically active 2-phenoxypropionic ester: ##STR1## wherein R.sup.1 represents a group to form a monovalent ester, which can be eliminated from the compound (III) under weakly basic to acidic conditions and R.sup.2 represents a hydrogen atom or 1 to 5 substituents which do not interfere in the reaction between the compounds (I) and (II); a reagent A being at least one compound selected from the group consisting of trialkylphosphine, trialkylphosphite, triarylphosphine and triarylphosphite; and a reagent B being at least one compound selected from the group consisting of dialkylazodicarboxylate and diarylazodicarboxylate.

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Maebashi, Japan

Masayuki Sakakibara