Ethylamine → L-Theanine

Participants

Reaction Conditions

Reaction Steps

First, 5.0 g (31 mmol) of L-glutamic acid-γ-methyl ester was suspended in 15 mL of methanol. To this, 4.3 g (34 mmol) of 2-acetyl-cyclopentanone and 3.1 g (31 mmol) of triethylamine were added. The mixture was heated at 60° C. for 2 hours. Subsequently, 20 g (310 mmol) of 70% ethylamine was added to the mixture and the same procedure as in Example 1 was performed to obtain 3.6 g of theanine (yield: 66.7%). The obtained theanine had the same purity as high as in Example 1.

Provenance & Evidence