Amine degradation by 4,5-epoxy-2-decenal in model systems.

The reactions of 4,5-epoxy-2-decenal with octylamine, benzylamine, and 2-phenylglycine methyl ester were studied to investigate if amines may suffer a Strecker type degradation by epoxyalkenals analogously to amino acids. In addition to other reactions, the studied amines were converted into their corresponding Strecker aldehydes (octanal, benzaldehyde, and methyl 2-oxo-2-phenylacetate, respectively) to an extent that depended on the pH, the temperature, the amount of epoxyalkenal, and the amine involved. Each amine exhibited an optimum pH for the reaction, but the corresponding Strecker aldehydes were produced to a significant extent within a broad pH range. In addition, the temperature mostly influenced the reaction rate, which was increased between 6.5 and 9.5 times when the reaction was carried out at 60 degrees C than when it took place at 37 degrees C. Furthermore, Strecker aldehyde formation was linearly correlated with the amount of the epoxyalkenal present in the reaction mixture. Nevertheless, the reaction yield mostly depended on the amine involved. Thus, octylamine only produced trace amounts of octanal, benzylamine was converted into benzaldehyde with a yield of 4.3%, and 2-phenylglycine methyl ester was converted into methyl 2-oxo-2-phenylacetate with a reaction yield of 49%. All of these results suggest that suitable amines can be degraded by epoxyalkenals to their corresponding Strecker aldehydes to a significant extent.