Synthesis of enantiomerically pure (-)-(S)-brevicolline

(-)-(S)-Brevicolline (1) and related beta-carbolines were synthesized using an enantiomerically pure Michael-acceptor synthon (3). Subsequent Pictet-Spengler reaction afforded the tetrahydro-beta-carboline skeleton, which, in turn, was transformed to the beta-carboline by catalytic dehydrogenation.