Synthetic strategies for dihydrochalcones

Abstract

Dihydrochalcones are open chain derivatives of flavanones characterised by the presence of the benzylacetophenone skeleton. They have been reported to exhibit many important biological activities, which make them attractive targets for chemical synthesis. Several synthetic strategies have been developed for the dihydrochalcones. The most widely employed synthetic method involves selective reduction of the double bonds of chalcones. Other methods that have been developed for the synthesis of dihydrochalcones include transition metal-catalysed coupling reactions as well as light-catalysed reactions. This review discusses the synthetic strategies for the dihydrochalcones.