The Use of Cinnamic Acid and Cinnamaldehyde, as Bio-Based Molecules, in Organic Synthesis and Preparation of Biologically Active Compounds

Cinnamic acid and cinnamaldehyde may be obtained from renewable plant bio-mass, Cinnamon plants; therefore these compounds should be considered as bio-based platform chemicals for the synthesis of novel substances. This review describes recent achievements in organic synthesis based on transformations of cinnamaldehyde, cinnamic acid and its derivatives, focusing, mainly, on the preparation of biologically active compounds. Reactions of these cinnamic derivatives may proceed both onto carbon-carbon double bond and carbonyl group that allows obtaining a wide variety of organic compounds having high synthetic importance and different practically valuable properties, including biological activity.