Formation of l-quebrachitol from d-bornesitol in leaves of Acer pseudoplatanus

d-Bornesitol and l-quebrachitol have been found in the leaves of Acer pseudoplatanus L. The results of incorporation studies using labeled myo-inositol-¹⁴C, l-inositol-¹⁴C and d-bornesitol-¹⁴C indicate that l-quebrachitol is produced by epimerization of d-bornesitol. In Artemisia vulgaris, however, the precursor of l-quebrachitol is l-inositol.