Tetrahydroisoquinolines affect the whole-cell phenotype of Mycobacterium tuberculosis by inhibiting the ATP-dependent MurE ligase

Objectives (S)-Leucoxine, isolated from the Colombian Lauraceae tree Rhodostemonodaphne crenaticupula Madriñan, was found to inhibit the growth of Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv. A biomimetic approach for the chemical synthesis of a wide array of 1-substituted tetrahydroisoquinolines was undertaken with the aim of elucidating a common pharmacophore for these compounds with novel mode(s) of anti-TB action. Methods Biomimetic Pictet–Spengler or Bischler–Napieralski synthetic routes were employed followed by an evaluation of the biological activity of the synthesized compounds. Results In this work, the synthesized tetrahydroisoquinolines were found to inhibit the growth of M. tuberculosis H37Rv and affect its whole-cell phenotype as well as the activity of the ATP-dependent MurE ligase, a key enzyme involved in the early stage of cell wall peptidoglycan biosynthesis. Conclusions As the correlation between the MIC and the half-inhibitory enzymatic concentration was not particularly strong, there is a credible possibility that these compounds have pleiotropic mechanism(s) of action in M. tuberculosis

Aporphine alkaloids with antitubercular activity isolated from Ocotea discolor Kunth (Lauraceae)

Tuberculosis disease causes thousands of deaths worldwide and, currently, the used drugs are either not enough or obsolete for its treatment. Therefore, new compounds that combat this disease are been seek. Thus, the antituberculosis activity of the alkaloids ocoxilonine (1), ocoteine (2), dicentrine (3) and 1,2-methylenedioxy-3,10,11 -tnmetlioxy aporphine (4), isolated from Ocotea discolor wood was evaluated. Their structures were identified by analysis of nuclear magnetic resonance spectroscopic data (NMR ID - 1 H, 13 C, 2 D - COSY, HSQC and HMBC), mass spectra, and comparison with literature data. All the isolated compounds showed antituberculosis activity, with a variation range in the minimum inhibitory concentration between 140 to 310 μM, being ocoteine (2) the most active compound against the virulent strain Mycobacterium tuberculosis H37Rv