The lactic acid-catalyzed reactions of ninhydrin and secondary enaminones were conducted by solvent-free grinding at room temperature to yield polycyclic 4b,9b-dihydroxy-4b,5,6,7,8,9b-hexahydroindeno[1,2-
A simple and efficient protocol has been developed for the synthesis of 4-hydroxyindole fused isocoumarins from easily available starting materials.