Triterpenes From Lagerstroemia indica L. Bark With Anti-ZIKV Activity

Area of Science:

• Natural Products Chemistry
• Virology
• Medicinal Chemistry

Background:

• Lagerstroemia indica L. bark is a source of bioactive compounds.
• Triterpenes are a class of natural products with diverse biological activities.
• Zika virus (ZIKV) poses a significant global health threat.

Purpose of the Study:

• To isolate and characterize chemical constituents from Lagerstroemia indica L. bark.
• To evaluate the anti-ZIKV activity of isolated compounds.
• To investigate the mechanism of action of active compounds against ZIKV.

Main Methods:

• Isolation of compounds using chromatographic techniques.
• Structure elucidation via NMR, HR-ESI-MS, UV, and IR spectroscopy.
• Determination of absolute configurations using ECD calculations.
• In vitro anti-ZIKV assays to determine EC50 values.
• Western blot analysis to assess viral protein expression.

Main Results:

• Two novel triterpenes (1-2) and 19 known triterpenes (3-21) were isolated.
• Compound 4 exhibited potent anti-ZIKV activity with an EC50 of 6.05 ± 0.51 µM.
• Compound 4 inhibited ZIKV envelope (E) protein expression and viral replication in a dose-dependent manner.

Conclusions:

• Lagerstroemia indica L. bark contains compounds with significant anti-ZIKV properties.
• Compound 4 is a promising lead for the development of ZIKV therapeutics.
• Further research is warranted to explore the therapeutic potential of Compound 4.