The asymmetric bioreduction of activated alkenes catalyzed by flavin-dependent enoate reductases from the OYE-family represents a powerful method for the production of optically active compounds. For its preparative-scale application, efficient and economic NADH-recycling is crucial. A novel enzyme-coupled NADH-recycling system is proposed based on the concurrent oxidation of a sacrificial sec-alcohol catalyzed by an alcohol dehydrogenase (ADH-A). Due to the highly favorable position of the equilibrium of ene-reduction versus alcohol-oxidation, the cosubstrate is only required in slight excess. Biotechnol. Bioeng. 2011;108: 1462-1467. (C) 2011 Wiley Periodicals, Inc.