Recent advances in synthetic approaches for bioactive cinnamic acid derivatives

• Betty A. Kustiana,
• Galuh Widiyarti and
• Teni Ernawati

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 1031–1086, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.85

• -catalyzed ring-opening reactions, e.g., by using PPh3. For instance, Reddy and co-workers (2024) utilized PPh3 to catalyze the esterification of diphenylcyclopropenone (309) with a series of natural products of the coumarin family to give the corresponding esters 311, 343, and 344 in good yields via the

Recent advances in controllable/divergent synthesis

• Jilei Cao,
• Leiyang Bai and
• Xuefeng Jiang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 890–914, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.73

• the hydroxy group to form complex Int-17 and the amino group undergoes nucleophilic attack to generate Int-18. After CO insertion complex Int-19 is produced and reductive elimination ultimately affords the indolo[3,2-c]coumarin product 10. In 2023, the Garg group achieved the first example of

Red light excitation: illuminating photocatalysis in a new spectrum

• Lucas Fortier,
• Corentin Lefebvre and
• Norbert Hoffmann

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2025, 21, 296–326, doi:10.3762/bjoc.21.22

• case a palladium porphyrin complex is used as photocatalyst and a coumarin derivative is used as NO donor when the irradiation is carried out at λ = 630 nm. NO is released in a photoredox catalytic process and both reaction partners are covalently bound in a block copolymer which forms micelles. This

• method has been developed in the context of the treatment of intervertebral disc degeneration caused by bacterial infection. It also inhibits the inflammatory response and osteoclast differentiation in the intervertebral disc tissues. The present coumarin derivative is also capable of releasing nitric

Advances in the use of metal-free tetrapyrrolic macrocycles as catalysts

• Mandeep K. Chahal

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3085–3112, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.257

• red light irradiation [97]. Firstly, they evaluated the photoreductant role of metal-free macrocycles, H2TPP (18) and PPIX 78, in the red light-induced C–H arylation of different substrates such as furan, coumarin, thiol, pivalamide, aryl thiaether and the selenium equivalents. Use of both macrocycles

Synthesis of the 1,5-disubstituted tetrazole-methanesulfonylindole hybrid system via high-order multicomponent reaction

• Cesia M. Aguilar-Morales,
• América A. Frías-López,
• Nadia V. Emilio-Velázquez,
• Alejandro Islas-Jácome,
• Angelica Judith Granados-López,
• Jorge Gustavo Araujo-Huitrado,
• Yamilé López-Hernández,
• Hiram Hernández-López,
• Luis Chacón-García,
• Jesús Adrián López and
• Carlos J. Cortés-García

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 3077–3084, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.256

• bioactivity study was proposed based on observations that indole-coumarin-thiadiazole hybrid compounds described by Kamath et al. [44], as well as indole-benzimidazole hybrids reported by Singla et al. [45] have shown potential as therapeutic agents for breast cancer treatment. Thereby, we hypothesized that

Advances in radical peroxidation with hydroperoxides

• Oleg V. Bityukov,
• Pavel Yu. Serdyuchenko,
• Andrey S. Kirillov,
• Gennady I. Nikishin,
• Vera A. Vil’ and
• Alexander O. Terent’ev

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2959–3006, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.249

• radical A generated from TBHP abstracts a hydrogen atom from cyclohexane 83 to give a cyclohexyl radical B. Further, tert-butoxy radical reacts with TBHP to give tert-butylperoxy radical C. Coumarin 102 was oxidized by tert-butylperoxy radical C to give C-center radical D. Finally, the radical cross

Recent advances in transition-metal-free arylation reactions involving hypervalent iodine salts

• Ritu Mamgain,
• Kokila Sakthivel and
• Fateh V. Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2891–2920, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.243

• of the SO2CF3 leaving group from the intermediate. For the late-stage substitution of coumarins, Han and colleagues developed a method, using hypervalent iodine reagents. At 50 °C in the presence of a base, coumarin-based aryliodonium salts are produced. These salts undergo an intramolecular aryl

Copper-catalyzed yne-allylic substitutions: concept and recent developments

• Shuang Yang and
• Xinqiang Fang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 2739–2775, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.232

• numerous natural products and pharmaceutical prospects. Given their significance, the pursuit of efficient and direct synthetic routes to access functionalized chiral coumarins has garnered substantial interest. While the literature is abundant with reports on coumarin-based propargylic and allylic

• precise and highly regioselective construction of an array of novel chiral coumarin derivatives, characterized by their exceptional synthetic efficiency and remarkable tolerance towards a broad spectrum of functional groups (Scheme 21, 22a–n). Almost at the same time, Lin et al. [71] also devised a copper

• method to access structurally diverse chiral coumarin derivatives, which are of great interest in the fields of medicinal chemistry and synthetic organic chemistry (Scheme 22, 22a–y). Moreover, the utilization of 2-(1-ethoxyethylidene)malononitrile as a γ-nucleophile yielded the desired product 22z with

Syntheses and medicinal chemistry of spiro heterocyclic steroids

• Laura L. Romero-Hernández,
• Ana Isabel Ahuja-Casarín,
• Penélope Merino-Montiel,
• Sara Montiel-Smith,
• José Luis Vega-Báez and
• Jesús Sandoval-Ramírez

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1713–1745, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.152

Methyltransferases from RiPP pathways: shaping the landscape of natural product chemistry

• Maria-Paula Schröder,
• Isabel P.-M. Pfeiffer and
• Silja Mordhorst

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2024, 20, 1652–1670, doi:10.3762/bjoc.20.147

• ]. Furthermore, alternative alkyl groups such as ethyl, propargyl, allyl, benzyl, and nitrobenzyl groups can be transferred [31][138][139][140][141][142]. Such alkylation strategies have been successfully applied to small molecules such as coumarin [141], anthranilate [21], and pyrazole [24], as well as larger

Recent advancements in iodide/phosphine-mediated photoredox radical reactions

• Tinglan Liu,
• Yu Zhou,
• Junhong Tang and
• Chengming Wang

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1785–1803, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.131

• efficient synthesis of diversely functionalized enamides 16 and 17, demonstrating remarkable tolerance towards various functional groups. In recent years, there has been a surge of research interest in coumarin derivatives due to their notable biological, pharmacological, and optical properties [16]. Zhou

• functionalized coumarin derivatives and related nitrogen-containing heterocycles, opening up exciting possibilities for their diverse applications in other fields. Similarly, the regioselective photodecarboxylative C–H alkylation of 2H-indazoles and azauracils using NaI/PPh3 as mediators and redox esters 3 was

Secondary metabolites of Diaporthe cameroonensis, isolated from the Cameroonian medicinal plant Trema guineensis

• Bel Youssouf G. Mountessou,
• Élodie Gisèle M. Anoumedem,
• Blondelle M. Kemkuignou,
• Yasmina Marin-Felix,
• Frank Surup,
• Marc Stadler and
• Simeon F. Kouam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1555–1561, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.112

• derivative of alternariol, a heptaketide coumarin derivative with a fused tricyclic ring called dibenzo-α-pyrone [31][32]. Alternariol is one of the toxic metabolites isolated from Alternaria strains, that grow on various natural resources such as corn, rice, fruits, vegetables, oilseeds, juices, wins, and

N-Sulfenylsuccinimide/phthalimide: an alternative sulfenylating reagent in organic transformations

• Fatemeh Doraghi,
• Seyedeh Pegah Aledavoud,
• Mehdi Ghanbarlou,
• Bagher Larijani and
• Mohammad Mahdavi

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1471–1502, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.106

• nucleophilic attack of TMSN3 to deliver product 11 (Scheme 7). Tian and Chang et al. could synthesize 3‑sulfenylated coumarin compounds 13 by using N-sulfanylsuccinimides 1 under a Lewis acid catalysis system (Scheme 8) [48]. Additionally, oxidation of 3-sulfenylated coumarins utilizing (diacetoxyiodo)benzene

Non-noble metal-catalyzed cross-dehydrogenation coupling (CDC) involving ether α-C(sp³)–H to construct C–C bonds

• Hui Yu and
• Feng Xu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 1259–1288, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.94

• ketones 94 with ethers [81]. Contrary to what was obtained for the alkylation of coumarin at the carbonyl α-position, vinyl ketone undergoes Michael addition and ether addition at the β-position of the carbonyl (Scheme 20). The reaction delivered various alkylation products in good to excellent yields

• catalyst. The authors demonstrated that the introduction of the two indoles occurs in two distinct steps, a radical process and a Friedel–Crafts alkylation reaction. Coumarin and flavonoid derivatives are very valuable precursors in drug synthesis. In 2015, Ge et al. developed the regioselective and atom

• -economical CDC reaction of coumarin and flavonoids with different ethers through a C(sp3)–H activation process and obtained two novel ether-substituted derivatives (Scheme 24) [85]. This method can introduce ether substituents at the electron-rich α-position of coumarin and the β-H position of flavonoids. In

Enolates ambushed – asymmetric tandem conjugate addition and subsequent enolate trapping with conventional and less traditional electrophiles

• Péter Kisszékelyi and
• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 593–634, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.44

• well as ketones were compatible with this process. The chiral ligand L12 afforded the highest enantioselectivities of up to 98% ee (Scheme 12). Conjugate addition of Grignard reagents to coumarin (49) generated the corresponding magnesium enolates 50 [43]. In one instance, this enolate was trapped by

• of heterocyclic enolates 108 generated from coumarin and chromone [65]. The high enantio- and diastereoselectivity of these transformations were ensured by a Josiphos-type ferrocene ligand. The reaction of chiral metal enolates with onium compounds enabled the installation of structurally attractive

Transition-metal-catalyzed domino reactions of strained bicyclic alkenes

• Austin Pounder,
• Eric Neufeld,
• Peter Myler and
• William Tam

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 487–540, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.38

• this section, showcasing several diverse nickel-catalyzed domino reactions. In 2001, Rayabarapu and co-workers investigated the Ni-catalyzed ring-opening/cyclization cascade of heterobicyclic alkenes 1 with alkyl propiolates 2 for the synthesis of coumarin derivatives 3 (Scheme 1) [28]. The reaction

• undergoing reductive elimination to afford to [2 + 2] adduct, β-oxygen elimination followed by E/Z isomerization and intramolecular lactonization generates the annulated coumarin scaffold. In 2003, the Cheng lab extended on this Ni-catalyzed ring-opening strategy [31]. It was noted the addition of 1.5

• identical reactivity when exploring the Pd- and Ni-catalyzed asymmetric reductive ring opening of heterobicyclic alkenes, ultimately generating the bicyclic product 7 (Scheme 1) [32]. In 2003, the Cheng laboratory continued studying Ni-catalyzed routes towards coumarin cores through the Ni-catalyzed ring

CuAAC-inspired synthesis of 1,2,3-triazole-bridged porphyrin conjugates: an overview

• Dileep Kumar Singh

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2023, 19, 349–379, doi:10.3762/bjoc.19.29

• ·5H2O and ascorbic acid as shown in Scheme 1. It was noted that an alkyne with an electron-withdrawing group 2c was found to be more reactive than an electron-donating group 2b in the formation of triazoloporphyrins. Similar to porphyrins, coumarin and its derivatives also possess diverse biological as

• well as optical properties. Moreover, the versatility of coumarin hybrids finds numerous applications including fluorescent brightening agents [16], optical sensors [17], organic light emitting diodes [18][19], light harvesting materials [20] and fluorescent probes in biological imaging [21]. Therefore

• , keeping the biological and optical properties of coumarin and porphyrin in mind, in 2015 we reported the synthesis and photophysical studies of β-triazole-bridged porphyrin-coumarin conjugates 11–15 [22] and β-triazolomethyl-linked porphyrin-coumarin dyads 16–20 [23] by using a click reaction approach

Automated grindstone chemistry: a simple and facile way for PEG-assisted stoichiometry-controlled halogenation of phenols and anilines using N-halosuccinimides

• Dharmendra Das,
• Akhil A. Bhosle,
• Amrita Chatterjee and
• Mainak Banerjee

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 999–1008, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.100

• bromination of 2'-hydroxyacetophenone (product 2m, Scheme 3). Notably, easily oxidizable groups like –CHO remained unaffected under the reaction conditions (product 2k and 2l, Scheme 3). It is worthy to mention that the bromination on 2-naphthol and coumarin was extremely fast affording >95% yields within

Synthesis of odorants in flow and their applications in perfumery

• Merlin Kleoff,
• Paul Kiler and
• Philipp Heretsch

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 754–768, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.76

• process [40]. The first synthesis of coumarin by Perkin in 1868 was a breakthrough in the history of natural odorant synthesis [2]. Coumarin (46) has a sweet, slightly spicy, and hay-like scent [9][41]. It was extensively used in Houbigant: Fougère Royal (1882, appearing at approx. 10%), a perfume which

• has lent its name to a whole family of perfumes (fougère perfumes) [2]. Despite the molecular size of coumarin, it is often considered as a base note, but higher dosages can bring it into the middle notes. In 2015, Guo and co-workers reported a flow procedure for the synthesis of coumarin (46

• min. The authors propose that the reaction does not follow the mechanism of the Perkin process but proceeds via acylation of salicylaldehyde (44) to intermediate 45, which forms coumarin (46) in an intramolecular aldol cyclization. Therefore, O-acylation of salicylaldehyde (44) is completed at 150 °C

Site-selective reactions mediated by molecular containers

• Rui Wang and
• Yang Yu

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 309–324, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.35

• container as the noncovalent protective group, the Pitchumani and Srinivasan group also reported that the reduction of coumarin (18) by sodium borohydride could be site-selectively induced in the presence of β-cyclodextrin C (Figure 4c) [59]. The reduction site-selectively occurred at the carbonyl not the

• alkenyl site, producing the final 1,2-reduction product cis-O-hydroxycinnamyl alcohol 19. As a comparison, in the absence of the β-cyclodextrin host, both the 1,2- and 1,4-reduction products were observed. X-ray crystallography determined the host–guest complex of the coumarin and β-cyclodextrin, which

New advances in asymmetric organocatalysis

• Radovan Šebesta

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 240–242, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.28

• asymmetric organocatalytic methods to assemble biologically relevant compounds is highlighted by a review article devoted to the syntheses of coumarin derivatives [16]. Conjugated additions of stabilized nucleophiles are the cornerstone of organocatalytic methodology. Recent advances in this area are covered

Glycosylated coumarins, flavonoids, lignans and phenylpropanoids from Wikstroemia nutans and their biological activities

• Meifang Wu,
• Xiangdong Su,
• Yichuang Wu,
• Yuanjing Luo,
• Ying Guo and
• Yongbo Xue

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2022, 18, 200–207, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.23

• diversity of the secondary metabolites from the genus Wikstroemia. Keywords: coumarin glucosides; flavonoids; lignans; structure elucidation; Wikstroemia nutans; Introduction The genus Wikstroemia (Thymelaeaceae) contains approximately 62 species, which are widespread throughout the subtropical regions of

• identification of a new bis-coumarin glucoside 1, together with three known bis- and tricoumarin glucosides 2–4, two flavonoid glycosides 5 and 6, and eleven lignan glucosides 7–17 (Figure 1). Herein, we present the isolation and structural elucidation of these natural products and their in vitro biological

• absorption bands at 325 and 293 nm indicated the presence of a coumarin-type chromophore. The IR spectrum of 1 demonstrated absorption bands characteristic for an hydroxy group (3266 cm−1), α,β-unsaturated carbonyl group (1739 and 1701 cm−1), and an aromatic ring (1624 and 1457 cm−1). The 1H NMR spectrum of

Asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives

• Natália M. Moreira,
• Lorena S. R. Martelli and
• Arlene G. Corrêa

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1952–1980, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.128

• Natalia M. Moreira Lorena S. R. Martelli Arlene G. Correa Centre of Excellence for Research in Sustainable Chemistry, Department of Chemistry, Federal University of São Carlos, 13565-905 São Carlos, SP – Brazil 10.3762/bjoc.17.128 Abstract Coumarin derivatives are essential scaffolds in medicinal

• , the advances in asymmetric organocatalyzed synthesis of coumarin derivatives are discussed in this review, according to the mode of activation of the catalyst. Keywords: asymmetric synthesis; green chemistry; 2H-chromen-2-one; organocatalysis; Introduction Coumarins are important naturally occurring

• plant constituents and display a wide range of pharmacological and biological activities, such as anticancer [1], antibacterial [2], and antifungal [3]. Moreover, coumarin derivatives have shown activity against neglected diseases as leishmaniasis [4], tuberculosis [5][6] and Chagas’ disease [7

Sustainable manganese catalysis for late-stage C–H functionalization of bioactive structural motifs

• Jongwoo Son

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1733–1751, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.122

• -NH tryptophan. Notably, alkenylative ligation of tryptophan-containing peptides and alkynes containing biomolecular motifs including sugar, menthol, or coumarin units was successful, delivering unprecedented hybrid complex peptides 34d–f in good yield. Based on the developed intermolecular process

Chemical approaches to discover the full potential of peptide nucleic acids in biomedical applications

• Nikita Brodyagin,
• Martins Katkevics,
• Venubabu Kotikam,
• Christopher A. Ryan and
• Eriks Rozners

Beilstein J. Org. Chem. 2021, 17, 1641–1688, doi:10.3762/bjoc.17.116