Benzoyl-coenzyme A is the most common central intermediate of anaerobic aromatic metabolism. Studies with whole cells of different bacteria and in vitro had shown that benzoyl-CoA is reduced to alicyclic compounds, possibly via cyclohexadiene intermediates. This reaction is considered a 'biological Birch reduction'. We have elucidated by NMR techniques the structures of six products of [ring-13C6]benzoate reduction. The reaction is catalyzed by extracts from cells of a denitrifying Pseudomonas strain K172 anaerobically grown with benzoate and nitrate as sole carbon and energy sources. The assay mixture contained [ring-13C6]benzoate plus traces of [U-14C]benzoate, Mg2+, ATP, coenzyme A (CoA), and Ti(III) as reductant. The use of the multiply 13C-labelled precursor increases the sensitivity of NMR detection and allows the analysis of crude product mixtures by two-dimensional coherence transfer procedures such as total correlation 13C-NMR spectroscopy and 13C-filtered 1H-NMR spectroscopy. The time course of product formation is consistent with the following order of events. Benzoyl-CoA is formed from benzoate via benzoate-CoA ligase. The first ring reduction product observed is cyclohex-1,5-diene-1-carboxyl-CoA. The next intermediate is 6-hydroxycyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA which is derived from the diene by addition of water. Part of the diene seems to be reduced to cyclohex-1-ene-1-carboxyl-CoA which becomes hydrated to trans-2-hydroxycyclohexane-1-carboxyl-CoA; these two intermediates may be side products in vitro. The first non-cyclic intermediate formed by beta-oxidation is 3-hydroxypimelyl-CoA. This aliphatic C7 dicarboxylic acid is proposed to be oxidized via glutaryl-CoA and crotonyl-CoA to three molecules of acetyl-CoA and one molecule of CO2. A similar product pattern was observed in the benzoate-degrading phototrophic bacterium Rhodopseudomonas palustris. This indicates that the enzymatic reduction of benzoyl-CoA may be mechanistically similar in different anaerobes.