Abstract
The Mannich reaction is one of the most broadly used organic reactions for constructing C-N and C-C bonds in synthetic chemistry. This review focuses on the multicomponent Mannich reaction and its variants for the synthesis of biologically active moieties such as anticancer, antimicrobial, antimalarial, antitubercular, anti-inflammatory and anticonvulsant molecules. A few organocatalyzed asymmetric Mannich reactions are also incorporated.