The first synthesis of orellanine was done in 1985 and Tiecco, M. et. Al. were able to synthesize orellaine from 3-hydroxy pyridine. This synthesis was completed in 8 steps with a 79-87% yield. When synthesized the two pyridyl rings are nearly perpendicular and the molecule is chiral. When it is isolated from the mushroom, it is an optically inactive racemic mixture. Other synthetic strategies have also been attempted. For example, orellanine was also synthesized in 9 steps by Dehmlow and Schulz in 1985 using 3-aminopyridine and the desired product was synthesized with 30% yield.