The subject invention concerns materials and methods for alkene reduction of compounds, such as levoglucosenone (LGO) and (, S)-Y-hydroxymethyl-a, P-butenolide (HBO), using an alkene reductase enzyme. In one embodiment, a method of the invention comprises alkene reduction of a target compound by reacting the compound with an Old Yellow Enzyme (OYE) that reduces alkene bonds. In one embodiment, the OYE is OYE 2.6 from Pichia stipites and comprises the amino acid sequence of SEQ ID NO : 1. In a specific embodiment, the enzyme is an Old Yellow Enzyme (OYE) 2.6 mutant having an amino acid substitution at position 78 in the sequence, wherein the tyrosine at position 78 is substituted with a tryptophan amino acid (Y78W) and is designated as OYE 2.6 Y78W (SEQ ID NO : 2).