Elimination of the 4-hydroxyl group of the alkaloids related to morphine—I

Sinomenine, an alkaloid of the Japanese plant Sinomenium acutum, was converted to the 4-phenylether by the Ullmann reaction in a good yield. The Clemmensen reduction of sinomenine-phenylether and of its derivatives gave (+)-3-methoxy-4-phenoxy-N-methyl-Δ^x-morphinan.

Hydrogenation and successive sodium-liquid ammonia reduction of (+)-3-methoxy-4-phenoxy-N-methyl-Δ^x-morphinan gave (+)-3-methoxy-N-methylmorphinan.