Patent ID: 8431739

Claim:
A process for the preparation of gabapentin free base which comprises: i) treating gabapentin acid salt with an organic solvent in which both the gabapentin salt and free gabapentin are soluble to obtain an organic phase; ii) treating the organic phase with a solid anhydrous alkali base and stirring until the pH is 7.0 to 7.5; iii) filtering the solution of step (ii) to remove alkali salt formed during neutralization in step (ii) and any unreacted solid alkali and optionally treating the filtrate with a suitable drying agent and then filtering to remove the drying agent, iv) treating the filtrate of step (iii) with an anti-solvent to precipitate gabapentin free base and filtering the precipitate; and v) stirring the gabapentin obtained in step (v) with a suitable alcoholic solvent.