An environmentally benign multicomponent synthetic method has been realized for the diastereoselective construction of fused tetrahydropyridines. Structurally diverse products have been acquired with generally good yields via the assembly of simple starting materials, enaminones or nitroenamines, o-aminophenols, and cinnamaldehydes, in the presence of lactic acid in water–ethanol media.
Key words
enaminone - transamination - multicomponent reaction - polycyclic product - aqueous synthesis