2- Mercapto-3-methylpyrazine

Castle and co-workers (1013) showed that 2-chloro-3-methylpyrazine with phosphorus pentasulfide in boiling pyridine afforded 2-mercapto-3-methylpyrazine, and 3-chloro-2,5-dimethylpyrazine similarly treated gave 3-mercapto-2,5-dimethyl-pyrazine. 

By using thiourea in 2N sulfuric acid, Cullen and Harrison (905) were able to convert 2-chloro-3-methylpyrazine at reflux for 30 minutes to 2-mercapto-3-methylpyrazine (55%), and 3-chloro-2,5-dimethylpyrazine similarly treated gave 3-mercapto-2,5-dimethylpyrazine together with another higher molecular weight compound, postulated as either (60) or (61). 2-Amino-3-chloropyrazine refluxed with thiourea in alcohol, and the thiouronium salt refluxed with aqueous sodium hydroxide, produced 2-amino-3-mercaptopyrazine (535). 2-Chloropyrazine failed to react with thiourea (821) under the mild conditions that converted 2-chloro-quinoxaline to 2-mercaptoquinoxaline (1014). 

Methyl-2-oxo-l, 2-dihydropyrazine with phosphorus pentasulfide in pyridine at reflux was converted into l-methyl-2-thio-l,2-dihydropyrazine (18) (821,1100), and 3-chloropyrazine 1-oxide with sodium hydrogen sulflde in ethanol at room temperature gave 3-mercaptopyrazine 1-oxide (19) (1035). Whereas 3-chloro-2,5-dimethyipyrazine 1-oxide reacted slowly with thiourea in ethanol, and the use of water in place of ethanol caused some increase in reaction rate, the reaction in 2A sulfuric acid at reflux for 30 minutes gave 3-mercapto-2,5-dimethylpyrazine 1-oxide (85%), and 3-mercapto-2-methylpyrazine 1-oxide was prepared similarly (905). 

Preparations of acylpyrazines from methylpyrazines have been described in Sections IV.2A(2) (635) and IV.2A(3) (634, 642, 645-647, 650-651). Recently it has been shown that 2-hydroxy(or mercapto)-3-methylpyrazine with two equivalents of butyllithium in dry tetrahydrofuran gave the colored dilithium salt (71, X = 0 or S), which reacted with alkyl benzoates and gave 2-benzoylmethyl-3-hydroxy(or mercapto)pyrazines (72, X = O or S, Y = 0). Similar reactions occurred with thio esters to give the thiocarbonyl compounds (72, X = O or S, Y = S)(1446). 

Significant aliphatic sulfur compounds are methional, 3-methyl-but-2-ene-1-thiol, 3-mercapto-3-methylbutan-l-ol (8-124), its ester 3-mercapto-3-methylbutyl formate, methanethiol and dimethyltrisulfide. 3-Mercapto-3-methyl-l-ol also occurs in passion fruit and blackcurrant, and as a putative cat pheromone in cat urine, where it is formed as a degradation product of amino acid L-felinine (see Section 2.2.1.2.2). Of more than 70 known pyrazines, the most important compounds in roasted coffee are isopropylpyrazine, 2-isobutyl-3-methoxypyrazine, 2-ethyl-3,5-dimethylpyrazine, 2,3-diethyl-5-methylpyrazine, 2,6-dimethyl-3-vinylpyrazine and 2-ethyl-6-methyl-3-vinylpyrazine. Pyridine and its alkyl derivatives and bicyclic pyridines have a negative impact on the quality of coffee aroma. Important aromatic... 

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