Ergotamine synthesis steps

The structure of ergotamine (9) is a peptide alkaloid in which a lysergic acid moiety is linked to alanine, phenylalanine, and proline. The manner of attachment of the amino acids is not clear. Neither dipeptides or tripeptides are added in the synthesis. Lysergylalanine does not appear to be incorporated as an intact unit. Although the amino acids were incorporated, the peptides appear to have been broken down and the component amino acids used. A crucial step seems to be the hydroxylation of the amino acid directly linked to lysergic acid (Groger, 1978). Other major problems involve the formation of the cyclic structure of the final product, ergotamine. Floss et al. (1974) proposed that peptide chain formation takes place in a concerted fashion on a multienzyme complex. The interme-... 

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