Recent progress on direct catalytic asymmetric vinylogous reactions

Direct catalytic asymmetric vinylogous reaction serves as a powerful tool to introduce stereocenter(s) at the γ- or/and even more remote position(s) of the vinylogous products in an atom-economical and efficient way. A variety of direct catalytic asymmetric vinylogous reactions with broad substrate scope and mild reaction conditions has been developed. Both metal catalysis and organocatalysis contributed in this field and led to the vinylogous products in high stereoselectivity. These vinylogous reactions provided efficient pathways for the synthesis of highly functionalized optically pure compounds, especially these with potential biological activity and pharmacological activity. This digest paper mainly focuses on the most recent developments in this field, including both nucleophilic addition and nucleophilic substitution.