Treatment of reserpine (1) with TFA-d under various conditions demonstrated that deuterium incorporation proceeds much more slowly than the epimerization. Indirect evidence was thereby obtained for the mechanism of the acid-catalysed epimerization of reserpine (1) that proceeds through C-3-N-b bond cleavage. Furthermore, the effectiveness of TFA as an epimerization reagent was demonstrated.
Treatment of reserpine (1) with TFA-d under various conditions demonstrated that deuterium incorporation proceeds much more slowly than the epimerization. Indirect evidence was thereby obtained for the mechanism of the acid-catalysed epimerization of reserpine (1) that proceeds through C-3-N-b bond cleavage. Furthermore, the effectiveness of TFA as an epimerization reagent was demonstrated.