N-(1-D-carboxylethyl)-L-norvaline dehydrogenase is part of the (D,L) stereochemistry family of opine dehydrogenases and is able to catalyse the reaction of pyruvate with hydrophobic L amino acids to form opines through reductive condensation using NAD(P)H as a cofactor. Of particular interest is the stereochemical specificity of this enzyme as its reaction is a key step in a number of synthetic routes for pharmaceuticals. The enzyme displays some sequence homology with (L,L) opine dehydrogenases and both families display homology with 2-hydroxy acid dehydrogenases.