Insight study of trans-ethyl 4-methoxycinnamate isolation and hydrolysis.

trans-Ethyl 4-methoxycinnamate is one of the major compounds isolated from the Kaempferia galanga rhizome and an important starting material for various chemical modifications. This study is reported the revisiting method for room temperature isolation of trans-ethyl 4-methoxycinnamate in the hexane extract of K. galanga. Pure trans-ethyl 4-methoxycinnamate can be isolated after recrystallization or the aim of column chromatography which is determined by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and mass spectrometry. The hydrolysis of trans-ethyl 4-methoxycinnamate was conducted in alkaline conditions to complete the structure elucidation which resulted in the trans-4-methoxy cinnamic acid within excellent yields. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]