title: Earthworm is a versatile and sustainable biocatalyst for organic synthesis.
abstract: A crude extract of earthworms was used as an eco-friendly, environmentally benign, and easily accessible biocatalyst for various organic synthesis including the asymmetric direct aldol and Mannich reactions, Henry and Biginelli reactions, direct three-component aza-Diels-Alder reactions for the synthesis of isoquinuclidines, and domino reactions for the synthesis of coumarins. Most of these reactions have never before seen in nature, and moderate to good enantioselectivities in aldol and Mannich reactions were obtained with this earthworm catalyst. The products can be obtained in preparatively useful yields, and the procedure does not require any additional cofactors or special equipment. This work provides an example of a practical way to use sustainable catalysts from nature.
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Zhi
authors.initials: Z
authors.lastname: Guan
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yan-Li
authors.initials: YL
authors.lastname: Chen
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yi
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Yuan
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Jian
authors.initials: J
authors.lastname: Song
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Da-Cheng
authors.initials: DC
authors.lastname: Yang
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yang
authors.initials: Y
authors.lastname: Xue
authors.affiliation: School of Chemistry and Chemical Engineering, Southwest University, Chongqing, P. R. China.
authors.forename: Yan-Hong
authors.initials: YH
authors.lastname: He
mesh_terms: D000447:Aldehydes / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D000818:Animals; D002384:Catalysis; D060326:Chemistry Techniques, Synthetic; D045424:Complex Mixtures / Q000737:chemistry; D003374:Coumarins / Q000138:chemical synthesis; D009835:Oligochaeta / Q000737:chemistry*
chemical_list: D000447:Aldehydes; D045424:Complex Mixtures; D003374:Coumarins; C116609:3-hydroxybutanal; C030123:coumarin