Synthetic approaches to imino sugar (2R,3R,4S)-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-methylpyrrolidine-3,4-diol from naturally occurring sugar and amino acid

Imino sugar compound 3 was prepared by two alternative routes starting from ribose and d-serine. From d-serine (3R,4R,5R)-3,4-dihydroxy-5-(hydroxymethyl)-3-methylpyrrolidin-2-one was prepared in five steps in 50% overall yield, which was further converted into (2R,3R,4S)-2-(hydroxymethyl)-4-methylpyrrolidine-3,4-diol in three steps in 23% overall yield.