An effective autorecycling system for the biomimetic synthesis of α-amino-acids by the reductive amination of α-keto-acids has been achieved for the first using 10-aryl-5- deazaflavin, ammonium formate, and formic acid; each mole of the 5-deazaflavin catalyses the reduction, by formic acid, of up to 20 moles of the α-imonio-acids formed in situ from the α-keto-acids and ammonium formate.
