The first histidine catalyzed direct aldol reactions of ketones with nitrobenzaldehydes in water and in poly（ethylene glycol） （PEG） were reported. It reveals that histidine is a good aldol catalyst for synthesis of β-hydroxylketones in water and in PEG, giving good to excellent yields of the respective products. Better enantioand regioselectivity were achieved using low molecular weight PEG as the media. The results show that histidine and PEG-200 or -300 may constitute a promising environmentally benign system for asymmetric synthesis of β-hydroxylketones.
