Bioactivity-guided fractionation of the methanolic root bark extract of Leucophyllum frutescens (Berl.) I.M. Johnst. led to the identification of leubethanol (1), a new serrulatane-type diterpene with activity against both multi drug-resistant and drug-sensitive strains of virulent Mycobacterium tuberculosis. Leubethanol (1) was identified by 1D/2D NMR data, as a serrulatane closely related to erogorgiane (2), and exhibited anti-TB activity with minimum inhibitory concentrations in the range 6.25–12.50 µg/mL. Stereochemical evidence for 1 was gleaned from 1D and 2D NOE experiments, 1H-NMR full spin analysis, as well as by comparison of the experimental vibrational circular dichroism (VCD) spectrum to density functional theory calculated VCD spectra of two diastereomers.
scite is a Brooklyn-based organization that helps researchers better discover and understand research articles through Smart Citations–citations that display the context of the citation and describe whether the article provides supporting or contrasting evidence. scite is used by students and researchers from around the world and is funded in part by the National Science Foundation and the National Institute on Drug Abuse of the National Institutes of Health.