High temperature reactions of fats with amino acids

Heating of fatty esters with α-amino acids at temperatures above 150 C gave substantial yields of N-substituted amides. The reaction involves decarboxylation of the amino acid and displacement of the alcohol moiety by the amine which is formed. Decarboxylation is a ca. zero order reaction in which the ester group is involved directly. It is suggested that these observations are consistent with a concerted mechanism. Only the simple α-amino acids, which contain no additional functional groups, yielded significant amounts of N-substituted amides under these conditions.