8-Substituted tetrahydropyrido[3,2-e]pyrrolizines are formed in the [3+2]-cycloaddition of 2-formyltetrahydropyrrolo[3,2-c]pyridine and acrolein, acrylonitrile, and methyl acrylate in the presence of trilon B. © 1999 Kluwer Academic/Plenum Publishers.