What are the chiral centers in ephedrine?

1 Answer
Ernest Z.
Jun 5, 2015

The chiral centres are #"C"-1# and #"C"-2# of the propanol chain.

The IUPAC name of ephedrine is #(1R,2S)"-2-(methylamino)-1-phenylpropan-1-ol"#.

The structure of ephedrine is

www.lookchem.com

The chiral centres are the carbon atoms with the wedged bonds:

  • #"C"-1#, the carbon bearing the #"OH"# group
  • #"C"-2#, the carbon bearing the #"NHCH"_3# group
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