Polymer-supported electron-rich diene for hetero Diels–Alder reactions

Boesenbergia rotunda: From Ethnomedicine to Drug Discovery

Boesenbergia rotunda is a herb from the Boesenbergia genera under the Zingiberaceae family. B. rotunda is widely found in Asian countries where it is commonly used as a food ingredient and in ethnomedicinal preparations. The popularity of its ethnomedicinal usage has drawn the attention of scientists worldwide to further investigate its medicinal properties. Advancement in drug design and discovery research has led to the development of synthetic drugs from B. rotunda metabolites via bioinformatics and medicinal chemistry studies. Furthermore, with the advent of genomics, transcriptomics, proteomics, and metabolomics, new insights on the biosynthetic pathways of B. rotunda metabolites can be elucidated, enabling researchers to predict the potential bioactive compounds responsible for the medicinal properties of the plant. The vast biological activities exhibited by the compounds obtained from B. rotunda warrant further investigation through studies such as drug discovery, polypharmacology, and drug delivery using nanotechnology.

A One-Step Synthesis of 2,3-Dihydro-4H-pyran-4-ones from 3-Ethoxy α,β-Unsaturated Lactones

[reaction: see text] Addition of diverse nucleophiles to the unsaturated lactone 2 that results from hetero Diels-Alder reaction of Brassard's diene 1 with aldehydes leads to an efficient and general approach to the synthesis of 2,3-dihydro-4H-pyran-4-ones 3.

Enantioselective Catalysis of the Hetero-Diels-Alder Reaction between Brassard's Diene and Aldehydes by Hydrogen-Bonding Activation: A One-Step Synthesis of (S)-(+)-Dihydrokawain

The first catalytic enantioselective hetero-Diels-Alder reaction between Brassard's diene and aldehydes has been achieved through hydrogen-bonding activation using TADDOL derivatives as catalysts to afford the corresponding delta-lactone derivatives in moderate-to-good yields and with high enantioselectivities (up to 91 % ee). The reactions can be carried out either under solvent-free conditions or in toluene. On the basis of the absolute configurations of the products and the hydrogen-bonding interaction pattern between TADDOL (alpha,alpha,alpha',alpha'-tetraaryl-1,3-dioxolan-4,5-dimethanol) and the carbonyl group disclosed by X-ray diffraction analysis, a possible mechanism for the catalytic reaction has been proposed. To demonstrate the usefulness of the methodology, a natural product, (S)-(+)-dihydrokawain, has also been prepared in 50 % isolated yield and with 69 % enantioselectivity in one step starting from 3-phenylpropionaldehyde by using this methodology. Therefore, this catalytic system is one of the most direct approaches to the construction of delta-lactone units, which will make the methodology very attractive for the synthesis of a variety of biologically important compounds and natural products.

Highly Enantioselective Hetero-Diels−Alder Reaction of Brassard Diene with Aromatic Aldehydes

[reaction: see text] Hetero-Diels-Alder reactions of Brassard diene with aromatic aldehydes were carried out smoothly in the presence of titanium(IV) tridentate Schiff base complexes to give the corresponding chiral delta-lactones in high enantioselectivities (up to 99% ee) under mild conditions.