4: R'= H, R2= OH essential for enzymatic hydroxylation to la, 25-dihydroxyvitamin D,(3), which is thought to be the hormonal form of the vitamin. The introduction of the la-hydroxy substituent is an essential metabolic event for the action of vitamin D on b0ne. l la, 25- Dihydroxyvitamin D3 (3), together with the synthetic analogue la-hydroxyvitamin D3 (4), has been studied clinically in several disease states such as chronic renal failure, ...