Applications of Morita-Baylis-Hillman Reaction to the Synthesis of Natural Products and Drug Molecules

The synthesis of complex natural products from simple and common intermediates has been one of the major goals in synthetic organic chemistry. Toward this objective, if such simple scaffolds are suitably decorated with diverse functional groups they present opportunities not only to synthesize the target compounds but also construct the close analogues to investigate the biological properties. The Morita-Baylis-Hillman (MBH) reaction is an organocatalyzed C-C bond forming reaction that leads to multifunctional products thereby offering viable alternatives for employing them for other complexity generating reactions. This property has been extensively utilized for the synthesis of natural products of microbial, animal, terrestrial, and marine origins. Simultaneously, MBH adducts are precursors to several drug molecules or their intermediates. This comprehensive review assimilates applications of the Morita-Baylis-Hillman reaction for the synthesis of different natural products and drug molecules.