The catalytic asymmetric aza-Michael reaction of benzoyl hydrazine toward chalcones through the nonactivated amine moiety conjugated addition was facilitated by the developed N,N'-dioxide-Sc(OTf)(3) complex under mild conditions, affording the pharmacologically and synthetically useful products in moderate to high yields with up to 97% ee.

The reaction of indole with chalcones, to give Michael-type adducts, was found to occur with good efficiency (up to 98% yield) and moderate enantioselectivity (up to 52% e.e.) in the presence of a chiral BINOL-based phosphoric acid. Furthermore, the alkylation products can be obtained in much higher e.e.s after one only crystallization.

Bile salt hydrolases (BSHs) play crucial roles in the deconjugation of conjugated bile acids and therefore are key targets for modulating acid metabolism. This study aimed to identify efficacious BSH inhibitors from a natural compound library characterize their inhibitory mechanisms. The potential more than 100 compounds against produced by Lactobacillus salivarius (lsBSH) was assayed, several ...

The oxidation of the ferrocenyl group of 2'-hydroxyferrocenyl chalcones activates the beta-position of the unsaturated ketone to nucleophilic attack to yield the first examples of ferrocenyl flavones. These compounds are significantly more cytotoxic than their organic analogs on B16 melanoma cells, with IC(50) values in the low micromolar range.

A novel and practical method has been developed for the synthesis of β-cyanoketones using tetraethylammonium cyanide (Et4NCN, TEACN) / Sc(III) triflate and chalcones without the liberation of toxic HCN gas. Availability, safety, easy handling of the reagents, mild conditions of the reaction and high yields, make this method an attractive protocol for the direct synthesis of cyano substituted 1,...

Cancer is an inevitable matter of concern in the medicinal chemistry era. Chalcone is the well exploited scaffold in the anticancer domain. The molecular mechanism of chalcone at cellular level was explored in past decades. This mini review provides the most recent updates on anticancer potential of chalcones.

An electron-withdrawing group was introduced to the α-position of chalcones, and the resulting alkylidene diketones showed new reactivities with enals under the catalysis of N-heterocyclic carbenes (NHCs). Selective activation of enals affords enolate equivalents that undergo highly enantioselective intermolecular Diels-Alder reactions with the alkylidene diketones. No products that might have ...