undergo epoxidation of the C(9)=C(10) bond followed by a Baeyer-Villigeroxidation to give, as final products, the 15-membered cyclic epoxyenol lactones of type 20 and 21. The structures of the various products were determined by 1H- and 13C-NMR spectroscopy. The conformations of the 14- and 15-membered rings were established by X-ray structure analyses of 7 and 21a. A reaction mechanism for the above