α‐amino acid is oxidized to an aldehyde and ammonia by molecular oxygen in presence of a reducing agent and it is converted to primary amine in presence of benzaldehyde under pyrolytic condition. Synthesis of an aldehyde, an α‐amino aldehyde, or a primary amine from a‐amino acid under different reaction conditions is known as Akabori reaction. This reaction has been used to synthesize dichlorophthalimido derivatives for the analysis of peptides, since the mass spectra of those derivatives are easily recognized