An efficient approach to trans-4-hydroxylpyrrolidine lactams 1 starting from amino acid is described. The utility of this method has been demonstrated in the synthesis of antipsychotic nemonapride 3 and antiangiogenic streptopyrrolidine 4. Compared four synthetic stereoisomers of natural streptopyrrolidine 4 in term of spectroscopic and physical data, the absolute structure of the natural product was proposed as (4S, 5S)-configuration.
