Synthesis of natural product hybrids by the Ugi reaction in complex media containing plant extracts

Plant extracts are rich in a wide variety of molecules with diverse biological activities. Chemical engineering of plant extracts has provided a straightforward and simultaneous synthetic route for artificial molecules derived from plant products. This study achieved the synthesis of 13 natural product-like molecules by the Ugi multicomponent reaction using plant extracts as substrates. In particular, the engineering of a mixture of plant extracts demonstrated a unique synthetic route to a series of natural product hybrids, whereby otherwise unencountered naturally occurring molecules of different origins were chemically hybridized in complex media. Even though these reactions took place in complex media containing plant extracts, the well-designed process achieved a good conversion efficiency (similar to 60%), chemoselectivity, and reproducibility. Additionally, some of the Ugi adducts exhibited promising inhibitory activity toward protease.

Automated summary

Plant extracts can be used as substrates for chemical engineering to synthesize artificial molecules with natural product-like structures. This method allows for efficient conversion in complex media and exhibits good selectivity and reproducibility. The study also discovered that some of the synthesized molecules exhibit promising inhibitory activity towards protease.