1-Methylpyrrolidine-2-acetic Acid, a Plausible Intermediate in the Biosynthesis of Cocaine
- 1 January 1989
- journal article
- research article
- Published by The Japan Institute of Heterocyclic Chemistry in HETEROCYCLES
- Vol. 28 (1) , 481-487
- https://doi.org/10.3987/com-88-s115
Abstract
Radioactive 1-methylpyrrolidine-2-acetic acid (0.5% absolute incorporation) was isolated from Erythroxylum coca plants which had been fed [2-14C]-1-methyl-.DELTA.1-pyrrolinium chloride. A systematic degradation of the 1-methylpyrrolidine-2-acetic acid established that all the radioactivity was located at its C-2 position. Since the cocaine isolated from this feeding experiment was labeled at C-5, this result is consistent with the hypothesis that 1-methylpyrrolodine-2-acetic acid, or a suitably activated ester, is an intermediate in the biosynthesis of cocaine.Keywords
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