Studies on Optically Active Amino Acids. V. Synthesis of Optically Active α-Aminoalcohols by the Reduction of α-Amino Acid Esters with Sodium Borohydride

A facile reduction of optically active α-amino acid esters and their hydrochlorides took place with sodium borohydride in ethanol or aqueous ethanol to give the corresponding optically active α-aminoalcohols in fair yields. The reaction conditions were investigated.