A solution containing 0.23 g (1.08 mmol) of piperidine ketone (9), 0.21 g of diethyl phosphonoacetic acid, and 0.21 g of EDCI in 5 mL of DMF was stirred overnight at rt under an argon atmosphere. The mixture was diluted with 25 mL of water and extracted 3 x 50 mL of diethyl ether. The combined ether extracts were dried over anhydrous MgSO4, filtered and concentrated to provide a crude mixture containing a 1:4 mixture of the diethyl phosphonoacetamide (10) (M = 387) and lactam 11 (M = 233). EIMS m/z (rel %) 387 (13, M + ), . The residue was taken up in 5 mL of anhydrous acetonitrile (ACN) and treated with 0.15 g of DBU (0.973 mmol) and 50 mg of LiCl (1.18 mmol) and the solution was stirred overnight at rt. The solvent was removed under reduced pressure, and the residue was taken up in 20 mL of diethyl ether and extracted with 5 mL of water. The ether solution was passed through a short plug of silica gel and the solvent was removed to provide 0.25 g of nearly pure 11, which was used as is in the next reaction. EIMS m/z 233 (19, M + ), 218 (5), 205 (9), 190 (7), 176 (3), 166(12), 165(100), 164 (44), 152 (12), 84 (30), 69 ( ), 41, (14). A solution containing 0.2 g of lactam 11 in 2 mL of diethyl ether was added to a mixture containing 0.12 g of LiAlH4 in 40 mL of diethyl ether and stirred for 3 h at rt. The reaction was quenched by sequential addition of 5-6 drops of water, 5-6 drops of 10% NaOH, and 10 drops of water, filtered, and solvent removed by reduced pressure. This yielded 0.18 g of 5 whose mass spectrum and retention times matched those of the quinolizidine natural product from B. producta.