Caffeic acid phenethyl ester （CAPE）, the main biologically active component of propolis, has been successfully synthesized from caffeic acid and β-bromoethylbenzene catalyzed by Na2CO3 in a mixed solvent of HMPA-CH3CN. To better understand the struc^re-activity relationship of CAPE, phenylethyl-monobenzoylcinnamate and phenylethyl-dibenzoylcinnamate were prepared. Meanwhile, the structure of phenylethyl-monobenzoylcinnamate was confirmed by single-crystal X-ray diffiaction.
