Amino secondary alcohols, e.g. cinchona alkaloid such as quinine, epiquinine, quinidine, epiquinidine and mixtures thereof, are oxidized to quininone, i.e., a mixture of quininone and quinidinone, by reaction of the alcohols with a metal ketyl, in an inert hydrocarbon solvent. The ketyl is formed through the reaction of an alkali metal or amalgam with a diphenyl ketone, such as benzophenone or fluorenone.
