Optically active compounds having plural chiral centers and production thereof

A process for producing an optically active compound having plural chiral centers which comprises causing an ester to act on a 2-substituted-3-hydroxy-carboxylic acid ester as a racemate of the general formula (8) ##STR99## in the presence of a hydrolase under substantially anhydrous conditions to effect transesterification and resolving into a compound of formula (6-1) and a compound of formula (7-2), or a compound of formula (6-2) and a compound of formula (7-1), ##STR100## and subjecting said compounds to alcoholysis, or hydrolysis and then dehydration, to produce an optically active 2,6-cis-2,5,6-substituted-1,3-dioxan-4-one of the general formula (9), ##STR101## followed by recrystallization to produce the following 2,5,6-substituted-1,3-dioxan-4-one compound having absolute configuration, ##STR102## where formula 9 represents a mixture of compounds of formula 12 and formula 14, or a mixture of compounds of formula 13 and formula 15;

• R.sup.1, R.sup.2 and R.sup.4 are independently selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl, and alkynyl, having 1-40 carbon atoms, the carbon chain may contain at least one member selected from the group consisting of halogen, cyano, oxygen, nitrogen, silicon, sulfur, benzene ring, cyclohexane ring, pyridine ring, pyrimidine ring, pyridazine ring, pyrazine ring, dioxane ring, bicyclooctane ring, and the rings with at least one substituent;
• R.sup.5 is selected from the group consisting of alkyl, alkenyl and alkynyl, having 1-40 carbon atoms, X' is alkanoyl having 2-40 carbon atoms, and the carbon atoms with a sign, *, is an asymmetric carbon.