有关碳水化合物的文献中，烯丙醚用来保护醇是很常见的，原因在于烯丙醚通常可用各种方法形成糖苷。显然，烯丙醚不能与强的的亲电试剂共存，如溴、催化氢化的试剂。但它在中等强度的酸性条件（1N HCl，回流，10小时）下稳定。易于生成，在大量其它保护基存在下有许多温和的脱保护方法，及其总体上的稳定性，使得烯丙醚成为许多反应系列中的主干。已有关于全氘代烯丙溴的合成及将它用作碳水化合物保护基方面的报道，全氘化合物的优点在于：烯丙基的NMR中的共振不再掩蔽其它可供鉴定的共振吸收峰，如糖苷的导头碳的吸收峰。

烯丙基保护羟基示例(J.Org.Chem.C 1969,2367)

A mixture of 1 (50 g), powdered NaOH (50 g), benzene (500 mL), and allyl bromide (12 mL) washeated under reflux and the progress of the reaction was followed by TLC(ether: petroleum, 1:1). After 80 min. some starting material (Rf 0.15)remained and some diallyl derivatives present, but the major product was themonoallyl derivatives (Rf 0.56), the benzene solution was washed with water,dried (K₂CO₃) and evaporated. The syrupy product waschromatographed on alumina, elution with benzene:ether removed the diallylderivative (9 g) andelution with ether-methanol (25:1) gave the monoallyl derivatives (35 g ). Further elution with methanol gaveunchanged starting material (8 g).

烯丙基脱保护示例(J.Chem.Soc. PerkinsTrans 1, 1980,738)

A solution of menthyl allyl ether (0.114 g, 0.58 mmol) (prepared from menthol,sodium hydride, and allyl bromide), RhCl(PPh₃)₃ (0.037 g, 0.040 mmol) anddiazabicyclo[2,2,2]octane (0.013 g,0.120 mmol) (added to inhibit premature hydrolysis of the intermediate enolether. Free propionaldehyde reacts with RhCl(PPh₃)₃ toform the catalytically much less active RhCl(PPh₃)₂CO.)in 10% aqueous ethanol was heated at reflux for 3 h. An aliquot was injectedinto 1 N HCl and after a few minutes was assayed by vpc analysis which showedonly menthol and menthyl allyl ether in 93% and 7% yield, respectively. Work upof a parallel reaction (by poured into water, extracting with ether, washingthe ether with brine acidified to pH 2, drying over MgSO₄,concentrated, and separation on silica gel) gave menthol in 93% yield.