Abstract: Arylalkylamines (as a sulfate salt) e.g. tyramine sulfate, are prepared by reacting substituted or unsubstituted arylalkylketones with a lower alkylnitrite in the presence of hydrogen chloride in a dipolar aprotic solvent, then combining the reaction mixture with water and extracting it with a lower alkyl ester or alcohol to recover an aryl-.alpha.-oximinoalkylketone extract. The extract, combined with a supported hydrogenation catalyst (e.g. palladium on carbon) in a nonaqueous reaction medium of a major proportion of a mildly protic carboxylic acid (e.g. acetic acid) and a minor proportion of a strong inorganic acid (e.g. sulfuric acid), which is effective in the presence of the catalyst for secondary alcohol dehydration and active as an absorbant for water produced in the dehydration reaction, is hydrogenated to produce the arylalkylamine sulfate sale.