Ficin-catalyzed asymmetric aldol reactions of heterocyclic ketones with aldehydes

Ficin from fig tree latex displayed a promiscuous activity to catalyze the direct asymmetric aldol reactions of heterocyclic ketones with aromatic aldehydes. Ficin showed good substrate adaptability to different heterocyclic ketones containing nitrogen, oxygen or sulfur. The enantioselectivities up to 81% ee and diastereoselectivities up to 86:14 (anti/syn) were achieved under the optimized reaction conditions.