Ginkgo biloba L., also popularly known as living fossil, possesses a variety of biological and pharmacological activities. The leaf extract of G. biloba L. (EGb 761) has been used for years to treat age-related memory-deficit problems, including Alzheimer's and dementia. Experimental and clinical studies have revealed its beneficial effects on a wide range of pathological conditions including hepatoprotective, photoprotective effects, DNA repair mechanism, antioxidant and anti-inflammatory activities. Recent studies have also suggested that leaf extract of G. biloba L. may exert beneficial effects on cancer. This review focuses on recent scientific evidence of the reported medicinal effects of G. biloba L.

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Treatment of acetylenic or olefinic carbonates and esters with a low-valent titanium reagent diisopropoxy(η2-propene)titanium (1), readily generated by the reaction of Ti(O-i-Pr)4 or ClTi(O-i-Pr)3 with 2i-PrMgX, resulted in an intramolecular nucleophilic acyl substitution (INAS) reaction to afford organotitanium compounds having a carbonyl functional group, in good to excellent yields. Thus, the treatment of alkyl alkynyl carbonates 2 or alkyl alkenyl carbonates 4 with 1 gave organotitanium compounds having a lactone and/or ester group. Similarly, alkyl alkynoates 10 or alkynyl esters 14 of carboxylic acids reacted with 1 to give organotitanium compounds having a cyclic or acyclic ketone group, respectively. Thus, the reaction provides, after hydrolysis, five- or six-membered α-alkylidene lactones and/or α,β-unsaturated esters from 2, γ-butyrolactone derivatives from 4, five- or six-membered α-alkylidene cyclic ketones from 10, and acyclic α,β-unsaturated ketones 15 from 14. In all cases, the yields are excellent and the generation of the organotitanium compounds was confirmed by deuterolysis. The organotitaniums 6 and 11c reacted smoothly with iodine to afford 2-(iodomethyl)-4-butanolide (9) and α-[iodo(trimethylsilyl)methylidene]cyclopentanone, respectively. The organotitanium compounds obtained here also reacted with aldehydes to give the corresponding adducts, thus opening up a new access to substituted α,β-butenolides from 2, to γ-butyrolactones from 4, and to the corresponding tetrasubstituted furan from 10 and 14.

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