Biomimetic synthesis of Tramadol.

Tramadol has recently been isolated from the roots and bark of Nauclea latifolia. A plausible biosynthetic pathway has been proposed and the product-precursor relationship has been probed by (13)C position-specific isotope analysis. By further exploring this pathway, we demonstrate that a key step of the proposed pathway can be achieved using mild conditions that mimic in vivo catalysis.