Abstract
An extract of the red alga, Neorhodomela aculeata, exhibited antiviral activity against human rhinoviruses. Bioassay-guided purification was performed to yield six compounds, which were subsequently identified as lanosol (1) and five polybromocatechols (2–6) by spectroscopic methods, including 1D and 2D NMR and mass spectrometric analyses. Structurally, all of these compounds, except compound 5, contain one or two 2,3-dibromo-4,5-dihydroxyphenyl moieties. In a biological activity assay, compound 1 was found to possess antiviral activity with a 50% inhibitory concentration (IC50) of 2.50 μg/mL against HRV2. Compound 3 showed anti-HRV2 activity, with an IC50 of 7.11 μg/mL, and anti-HRV3 activity, with an IC50 of 4.69 μg/mL, without demonstrable cytotoxicity at a concentration of 20 μg/mL. Collectively, the results suggest that compounds 1 and 3 are candidates for novel therapeutics against two different groups of human rhinovirus.
1. Introduction
More than 500 species of marine algae are distributed along the coast of Korea. Some of these algae are sources of foods or traditional medicines [1], while others may serve as important resources for bioactive natural products [2,3,4]. Red algae of the Rhodomelaceae (Ceramiales) family are rich sources of several monoaryl, diaryl, and triaryl bromocatechol structural types with various biological activities, including anticancer, antioxidative, antimicrobial, and anti-thrombotic effects [5,6,7,8,9]. However, there have been no reports describing the characterization of compounds derived from Neorhodomela aculeata (L.P. Perestenko) Masuda. (Rhodomelaceae) collected off the Korean coast. A few reports have described the antioxidative and antibacterial activities of methanolic extracts of N. aculeata, but there have not been reports of any antiviral activity associated with these extracts [10].
Human rhinoviruses (HRVs), members of the Picornaviridae family, are divided into three distinct species: type A, type B, and type C. These viruses are the predominant causal agents of viral respiratory tract infections, particularly common colds [11], as well as acute otitis media and sinusitis [12,13]. Specific and small-molecule antiviral agents for the treatment of picornavirus infections are not currently available. The production of vaccines to prevent rhinovirus infections is also known to be very challenging due to the more than 100 immunologically non-cross-reactive rhinovirus serotypes [14]. Therefore, most efforts have been focused on the development of effective antiviral agents for treating rhinovirus infections [15]. Several antiviral compounds have been shown to inhibit members of the picornavirus family by binding to the viral capsid proteins [16]. One of these, pleconaril, is a new-generation antiviral agent that has shown activity against rhinoviruses, excluding the 25 serotypes of HRV-B [17].
Herein, we report the structurals elucidation of polybromocatechol compounds isolated from N. aculeata and their anti-human rhinovirus activity.
2. Results and Discussion
3. Experimental Section
3.1. General Experimental Procedures; Instruments and Reagents
NMR spectra were recorded in acetone-d6 on a Varian UNITY Plus 500 MHz spectrometer (Palo Alto, CA, USA). NMR chemical shifts were referenced to the residual solvent peaks (δH 2.05 and δC 29.84 and 206.26 for acetone-d6). Low-resolution ESIMS data were measured with an Agilent Technologies VS/Agilent 1100 system (Santa Clara, CA, USA). Stationary phases for column chromatography (Silica gel 60, 230–400 mesh) were purchased from Merck (Darmstadt, Germany). The RP-HPLC system was composed of a solvent degasser (Agilent, G1322A), binary pump (Agilent, G1312C), an autosampler (Agilent, G1329B), and a photodiode-array detector (Agilent, G1315D). Analytical RP-HPLC was used Phenomenex Luna C18 (2) column (150 × 4.6 mm, 5 μm), the mobile phase consisting of a binary gradient of solvent A (0.02% TFA in water); solvent B (0.02% TFA in acetonitrile). The gradient flow program was, as follows: 0 min, 10% B; 30 min, 100% B. The flow rate was 0.7 mL/min and elution was monitored at 280 nm. The active extract was performed in preparative conditions, using a preparative Phenomenex Luna C18 (2) column (250 × 21.2 mm, 10 μm) with a flow rate fixed at 10 mL/min. Purification of the active fraction was performed in semi-preparative conditions, using a semi-preparative Phenomenex Luna C18 (2) column (250 × 10.0 mm, 5 μm) with a flow rate fixed at 4 mL/min. Sulforhodamine B (SRB) was purchased from Sigma-Aldrich (St Louis, MO, USA).
3.2. Alga Material
The red alga Neorhodomela aculeata was collected in the port of Namae (37°56′43.05″ N, 128°47′13.70″ E), Korea, in July 2006. The sample was frozen when it collected immediately. The specimen identification was verified by Prof. Gab Man Park (Kwandong University). A voucher specimen (KDU-NA, MNP176) was deposited at the Marine Biomedical Research Center, College of Medicine, Kwandong University, Gangneung, 210–701, Korea.
3.3. Extraction and Isolation
Neorhodomela aculeata (3 kg, wet wt.) was extracted twice with 100% MeOH at room temperature. The MeOH extract was evaporated to dryness, and then crude residual (3.3 g) was suspended in H2O and partitioned successively with hexane, EtOAc and BuOH to give the ESF (2.2 g). Vacuum column chromatography (VCC) (Merck, 230–400 mesh, i.d. 6.5 × 5.0 cm) with n-hexane:EtOAc:MeOH (10:1:0, 5:1:0, 1:1:0, 0:100:0, 0:10:1, 0:5:1 and 0:0:100; each 1 L) in a stepwise gradually as eluents. The 7 fractions were combined by VCC and there were performed by analytical HPLC (Figure 1). The active fraction F4 (722.0 mg) was subjected to preparative HPLC (Phenomenex Luna C18 (2) column; i.d. 250 × 21.2 mm, 10 μm) with MeCN-H2O (gradient from 10 to 100% acetonitrile, v/v TFA 0.02%), and then 18 peaks were obtained. The isolated peaks were further purification using semi- preparative HPLC (Phenomenex Luna C18 (2) column; i.d. 250 × 10.0 mm, 5 μm). Peak P5-1 was crystallized from 40% aqueous acetonitrile to give compound 1 (53.8 mg). Peak P9-2 and P14-2 were purified by semi-preparative HPLC with 30% and 40% acetonitrile isocratic eluents to give compound 2 (0.8 mg) and compound 3 (47.0 mg), respectively. Peak P1518 (58.6 mg) was reseparated by reverse-phase preparative HPLC with acetonitrile-H2O (gradient from 40 to 43% acetonitrile for 30 min.) to give compound 6 (6.4 mg). And fraction F6 (200 mg), 2.2 mg of 4 and 5 mixture were obtained by semi-prep HPLC purification (gradient from 10 to 100% acetonitrile for 120 min). Their chemical structures were determined basis on NMR spectral data and MS data and compare with the data of previous reports as:
2,3-Dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl alcohol (lanosol) (1). Brown needle crystal; ESIMS m/z 296.9 [M − H]− [18].
2,3-Dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzaldehyde (2). Colorless solid; ESIMS m/z 296.9 [M + H]+ [19].
2,2′,3-Tribromo-3′,4,4′,5-tetrahydroxy-6′-methoxymethyldiphenylmethane (3). Colorless solid; ESIMS m/z 534.8 [M + Na]+ [20].
2,3-Dibromo-4,5-dihydroxybenzyl methyl ether (4). Colorless solid; ESIMS m/z 310.9 [M − H]− [18].
2,5-Dibromo-3,4-dihydroxy-benzyl methyl ether (5). Colorless solid; ESIMS m/z 310.9 [M − H]− [18].
2,2′,3,3′-Tetrabromo-4,4′,5,5′-tetrahydroxydiphenylmethane (6). White amorphous powder; ESIMS m/z 546.7 [M − H]− [20].
3.4. Viruses, Cells and Reagents
HRV 2 and 3 were provided by the ATCC (American Type Culture Collection, Manassas, VA, USA) and were propagated in human epitheloid carcinoma cervix (HeLa) cells at 32 °C. HeLa cells were maintained in minimal essential medium (MEM) supplemented with 10% fetal bovine serum (FBS) and 0.01% antibiotic-antimycotic.
Antibiotic-antimycotic, FBS and MEM were supplied by Gibco BRL (Grand Island, NY, USA). The tissue culture plates were purchased from Falcon (BD Biosciences, NJ, USA).
4. Conclusions
Six polybromocatechols were isolated for the first time from a methanol extract of the red alga Neorhodomela aculeata. Two of these compounds, compounds 1 and 3, exhibited inhibitory activity against human rhinovirus activity in a HeLa cell line. Assuming that these compounds exhibit other drug-like properties, it will be interesting to investigate the preclinical and clinical efficacy of these polybromocatechols.
Acknowledgments
This research was financially supported by a grant from the Korea Institute of Science and Technology institutional program, grant number 2Z03550.
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