Efficient synthesis of chromeno[4,3-b]pyrano[3,4-e]pyridine-6,8-dione derivatives via multicomponent one-pot reaction under mild reaction conditions in water

10-Methyl-7-aryl-7,12-dihydro-6H,8H-chromeno[4,3-b]pyrano[3,4-e]pyridine-6,8-dione derivatives are significant class of compounds and this is critical to develop methods in water using commercially available and non-toxic catalysts. In this paper, an efficient method is introduced for the synthesis of 10-methyl-7-aryl-7,12-dihydro-6H,8H-chromeno[4,3-b]pyrano[3,4-e]pyridine-6,8-dione derivatives. For the synthesis of the desired products, a multicomponent reaction was designed and performed between 4-hydroxycoumarin, an aldehyde, 6-methyl-2H-pyran-2,4(3H)-dione, and ammonium acetate. The products are obtained under green conditions in water in the presence of a catalytic amount of L-proline (10 mol%). The advantage of this method is no need to any toxic solvent, which is critical from the environmental viewpoint. A possible mechanism was suggested, which confirms the role of L-proline in the reaction as the catalyst.