was added in small amounts to an ethanolic solution of the cyanoacetamide derivative 1 (0.362 g, 2 mmol) and cinnamaldehyde (2) (0.264 g, 2 mmol) and the mixture was then heated under reflux for 5 hours, cooled to an ambient temperature, transferred over an ice-water mixture, and neutralized with dilute hydrochloric acid, The matching pyrrole-3-carbonitrile derivative (3) was obtained by filtering off the solid product, drying it, and recrystallizing it from the appropriate solvent. Repeating the above reaction while substituting a few drops of piperidine with trimethylamine resulted in the production of the phenylpenta-2,4-dienamide derivative 4.