A suspension of 3-(3-methoxy-4-nitro-phenyl)-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxy-phenyl)-acrylonitrile (0.9 g, 2.4 mmol) and tin chloride dihydrate (4.0 g, 17.7 mmol) in ethanol (25 mL) was heated at 70° C. for 1 h. The mixture was cooled and poured into ice (200 mL). The pH was made strongly alkaline by the addition of 10N NaOH. The mixture was extracted with EtOAc (5×50 mL) and the combined organic extracts were washed with water (40 mL), brine (40 mL), and dried (MgSO4). Solvent was removed and the residue was purified by flash chromatography (silica gel, Hexane:EtOAc 1:13 to afford mixture isomers of 3-(4-amino-3-methoxy-phenyl)-3-(3,4,5-trimethoxy-phenyl)-acrylonitrile (0.4 g, 42%) as a yellow solid: mp 123-125° C.; 1H NMR (CDCl3) δ 7.05-6.53 (m, 5H), 5.56(5.43) (s, 1H), 4.12 (s, 2H), 3.91-3.81 (m, 12H); 13C NMR (CDCl3) δ 163.19, 163.09, 152.99, 152.93, 146.63, 139.82, 138.74, 135.43, 132.66, 128.33, 126.35, 124.12, 118.96, 113.76, 113.74, 111.99, 110.22, 107.35, 106.42, 91.14, 90.52, 60.94, 56.28, 56.25, 55.74, 55.59; Anal Calcd for C19H20N2O4: C, 67.05; H, 5.92; N, 8.23. Found: c, 66.92; H, 5.76; N, 8.10.
