Wurtz); by boiling a-chlorpropionic acid with caustic alkalis, or with silver oxide and water; by the reduction of pyruvic acid with sodium amalgam; or from acetaldehyde by the cyanhydrin reaction (J.
Chromic acid oxidizes it to acetic acid and carbon dioxide; potassium permanganate oxidizes it to pyruvic acid; nitric acid to oxalic acid, and a mixture of manganese dioxide and sulphuric acid to acetaldehyde and carbon dioxide.
It may be synthetically obtained by distilling oxindole (C 8 H 8 NO) with zinc dust; by heating orthonitrocinnamic acid with potash and iron filings; by the reduction of indigo blue; by the action of sodium ethylate on orthoaminochlorstyrene; by boiling aniline with dichloracetaldehyde; by the dry distillation of ortho-tolyloxamic acid; by heating aniline with dichioracetal; by distilling a mixture of calcium formate and calcium anilidoacetate; and by heating pyruvic acid phenyl hydrazone with anhydrous zinc chloride.