A new synthesis of oxindole-3-alanine is devised and three distinct improvements and safeguards are suggested for the Cornforth synthesis of this substance, thus making this amino acid a readily available material for further syntheses of substances related to natural products. Dioxindole-3-alanine, suggested as a possible intermediate in the metabolic transformation of tryptophan into formylkynurenine, also has been synthesized. ...
