A new protocol for the chemoselective aromatization of tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acids to direct biomimetic one step synthesis of beta-carboline-3-carboxylic acids 2 A-L using catalytic amount of I sub(2) in DMSO/H sup(+) produces very good yield. This method was also successfully extended for the aromatization of tetrahydro-beta-carboline-3-methyl esters 5 A-G as well as one-step synthesis of Marinacarbolines-D analog, respectively. Further, the mechanism and role of iodine-DMSO in aromatization has been studied by Density Functional Theory Calculation.