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eucalyptus - mescaline

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alice_d25:
I only just noticed an entry on RHODIUMS page describing the prep'n of syringaldehyde from e. lignum from a variety of Eucalypts.  Does anyone have experience with this reaction?

Rhenium:
I am not aware of anyone who has tried the reaction, however the chmistry seems sounds. I guess the only initial problem would be the initial extraction of the syringaldehyde from the bark.

Rhenium

Osmium:
Hi Rhenium!

I have done such reactions, but only for analytical purposes. You can oxidise lignin with nitrobenzene/aq. NaOH and produce a mixture of substituted benzaldehydes that way. Most refs detailing this procedure use a closed reaction vessel, meaning high temp and pressure. It can be done in a glass flask without high pressure, but the reaction rate will be very low. Good enough for analytical work when all you want to know is the ratio of the different benzaldehydes in the lignin, but not quite good enough for production.
One way to solve this dilemma might be using high-boiling solvents instead of aq. NaOH, I have seen aniline mentioned in one ref. But aniline is very toxic and hardly OTC so I can't recomend this variation.
Another big problem is finding the right lignin high in syringyl units. Separating the aldehydes will be very difficult, unless you use chromatography, which can't be used for production quantities.
I'll try to find some refs for this.

ScuzZ:
Just a simple extraction like one you'd use to get DMT out of wattle leaves would do sufficiently.
Wouldn't it??

Osmium:
Absolutely not! Lignin is a highly crosslinked polymer. For benzaldehyde production you have to degrade it by oxidation.

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