Bioactive Compounds Discovery from French Guiana Plant Extracts Through Antitubercular Screening and Molecular...

Area of Science:

• Natural Product Chemistry
• Pharmacology
• Metabolomics

Background:

• Tuberculosis (TB) remains a global health challenge, exacerbated by increasing drug resistance.
• There is an urgent need for novel antitubercular agents to combat resistant strains.
• Plant-derived compounds offer a promising source for new drug discovery.

Purpose of the Study:

• To identify bioactive compounds with antitubercular activity from selected plant species using a bioactivity-guided molecular networking approach.
• To explore the potential of natural products from French Guiana for TB drug development.
• To leverage advanced analytical techniques for efficient identification of active metabolites.

Main Methods:

• Ultrasound-assisted extraction and liquid-liquid partitioning of seven plant species.
• UHPLC-HRMS/MS analysis for metabolite profiling.
• Bioactivity screening against *Mycobacterium tuberculosis*.
• Integration of metabolomic data with bioassay results using molecular networking (GNPS, SIRIUS, TIMA-R).

Main Results:

• Non-polar fractions of *Indigofera suffruticosa*, *Tetradenia riparia*, and *Zingiber zerumbet* exhibited the highest antitubercular activity.
• Molecular networking facilitated the prioritization and annotation of active compounds.
• Flavonoids were identified as key contributors to the observed antitubercular effects.
• Computational tools aided in dereplication and structural prediction of active metabolites.

Conclusions:

• The bioactivity-guided molecular networking approach is effective for accelerating the discovery of known and novel bioactive natural products.
• This strategy provides a robust framework for natural product-based drug development against tuberculosis.
• The identified plant fractions and compounds warrant further investigation as potential leads for new anti-TB therapies.