New synthetic routes to furocoumarins and their analogs: a review.

ABSTRACT

Many furocoumarins and their analogs possess a prominent photobiological activity. Some of them are successfully used as drugs in phototherapy of skin diseases. Fries rearrangement of acyloxyheteroarenes, condensation of acylhydroxyheteroarenes with alpha-carbonyl compounds under base catalysis and transformations of dihydrofurocoumarinones are new trends in synthesis of furocoumarins and their analogs.