Beilstein J. Org. Chem.2022,18, 381–419, doi:10.3762/bjoc.18.43
menadione, a synthetic naphthoquinone belonging to the vitamin K group. This compound can be synthesized by different methods and it has a broad range of biological and synthetic applications, which will be highlighted in this review.
Keywords: cancer; chemical reactions; 2-methyl-1,4-naphthoquinone
interesting chemical properties and bioactivities, naphthoquinones have aroused great interest, mainly in the pharmaceutical field, where they have been widely used in the development of new and more efficient drugs [1][9].
The naphthoquinone menadione has attracted a lot of attention. Menadione or 2-methyl
-1,4-naphthoquinone (10), most known as vitamin K3, is a naphthoquinone derivative exclusively synthetic, not found in nature, used as an important precursor to synthesize vitamins K1 and K2, being classified as a provitamin (Figure 2) [10]. Vitamins K, obtained through food, play an important role in