Ezymes are capable of tasks that do not ordinarly happen in the chem lab, like oxidation of aromatics to phenols using O2 or some derivative of O2, deamination of L-phenylalanine acid, ect. It's things like this that lead to me wonderin's about the possible oxidation of eugenol to safrole. I bet it's thermodynamicaly fiesable, O2 oxidations usually are, but is it kineticaly (i.e. with the right enzyme and/or catalyst)?
Anyway I've only had a brief intro to biochemistry through the net, and from my current understanding which is probably wrong, but all aromatics in biology are derived from L-phenylalanine, L-Tyrosine and L-Tryptophan which in turn are derived from shikimic acid.
If this is true, then the way to safrole starts with L-tyrosine. However a quick search using google yields...
http://www.strath.ac.uk/Departments/Chemistry/courseinfo/4thyear/13941.html
"Sigmatropic rearrangement of chorismate to phenylpropanoids."
So I guess that assumption is wrong, but I did find something which kinda of runs parallel to answering my own question. It points at the possible path way to eugenol from coniferyl alcohol or ferulate.
http://www.hort.purdue.edu/rhodcv/hort640c/secprod/se00017.htm
But this is raising more questions for me now, like safrole from caffeic acid?
Second of all, carbon dioxide plus a catechol while biofriendly seems like it would need a ton of pressure and heat, which might lead instead 2-hydroxysalicylic acid derivatives. But getting that ester in mind can be done with phosgene, however reducing esters in general leads to an alcohol and aldehyde. The case with the *catechol carbonic ester*,*benzylene carbonate*? might be different. I still think that reductions would lead to clevage though. Perhaps CS2 could be used instead and a reduction of the resulting (-OC(=S)O-) could be attempted, I don't know.
Wait carbon monoxide, wouldn't that lead to the formate ester? I don't see how the reduction of a catechol formate leads to a methylenedioxybenzene. Reasons?
For that same great taste that'll always wire you up and never let you down, make it a dexedrine.
