Natural food additives as green catalysts in organic synthesis: a review

Catalysis is a pillar of green chemistry. Though there are many efficient catalysts reported, industrial engineers are now faced with the challenge of designing environmentally benign catalysts, which have a high reaction rate, can be recovered efficiently, and are biodegradable and cost-effective. Here we review food additives as catalysts in organic syntheses. Natural food additives offer a fruitful approach in implementing green chemistry, resulting in comparable reaction yields to conventional catalysts. We present the advantages of organic reactions performed using these green and efficient catalysts. In addition, reactions’ yields are compared to various synthetic methods. Finally, we discuss the turn-over number, turn-over frequency and reaction mechanisms of selected organic reactions mediated by these catalysts.