To probe this possibility, we incubated a solution of DEA, methylamine, nitroprusside and cyanide at pH 10. After 24 hours, Ch was formed in 20% yield ( 1 H-NMR; Fig. and). Analogously, we detected DEA and traces of Ch upon methylation of MEA, and observed that MEA is produced on methylation of EA (Fig. ). This potentially prebiotic synthesis of Ch via methylated ethanolamines set the stage for our investigation of the emergence of complex phospholipid headgroups on early Earth.