A process for producing an optical active &bgr;-amino alcohol, the method comprising the step of allowing at least one microorganism selected from the group consisting of microorganisms belonging to the genus Morganella and others, to act on an enantiomeric mixture of an &agr;-aminoketone or a salt thereof having the general formula (I):
1
to produce an optical active &bgr;-amino alcohol with the desired optical activity having the general formula (II) described below in a high yield as well as in a highly selective manner:
2
一种制备光学活性&bgr;-
氨基醇的方法,包括以下步骤:让至少一种选择自属于摩根氏菌属和其他微
生物组的微
生物作用于具有通式(I)的&agr;-
氨基酮或其盐的对映异构体混合物,以高产率和高选择性地产生具有所需光学活性的&bgr;-
氨基醇,其通式为(II):