Patent ID: 8217204

Claim:
A catalyst for asymmetric hydrogenation of an α, β-unsaturated carbonyl compound, which comprises: a powder of at least one metal selected from metals belonging to Group 8 to Group 10 of the Periodic Table, or a metal-supported substance in which at least one metal selected from metals belonging to Group 8 to Group 10 of the Periodic Table is supported on a support; an optically active cyclic nitrogen-containing compound; and an acid, wherein the optically active cyclic nitrogen-containing compound is a compound represented by the following general formula (1): wherein ring A is a three- to seven-membered ring which may have a substituent, comprises at least one kind of atom selected from the group consisting of a carbon atom, a nitrogen atom, a sulfur atom, an oxygen atom and a phosphorous atom, and may be a fused ring structure; R 1 and R 2 each independently represent an hydrogen atom, an alkyl group which may have a substituent, a cycloalkyl group which may have a substituent, an alkenyl group which may have a substituent, an aryl group which may have a substituent, an aralkyl group which may have a substituent, an alkoxy group which may have a substituent, a carboxyl group which may have a substituent, alkoxycarbonyl group which may have a substituent, an amide group which may have a substituent, a siloxy group which may have a substituent, an aromatic heterocyclic ring which may have a substituent or an aliphatic heterocyclic ring which may have a substituent, wherein R 1 and R 2 do not represent a same substituent, and either R 1 or R 2 may be bonded to the ring A to further form a ring; and * represents an asymmetric carbon atom, and the optically active cyclic nitrogen-containing compound does not include amino acids.