Design, Synthesis, and Biological Evaluation of Novel Derivatives of the Marine Natural Product Laurene

Plant pathogenic fungi and viruses are seriously threatening agricultural production. There is an urgent need to develop novel fungicides and antiviral agents with low toxicity and high efficiency. In this study, we designed and synthesized 32 thiazole-, hydrazone-, and amide-containing derivatives of laurene and systematically evaluated their antiviral activities and fungicidal activities. Structure-simplified compounds 5a – 5c, 5i, 5k, 5l, 11a, 11j, and 12c displayed higher antiviral activities than that of ningnanmycin. Compound 11a with a simple chemical structure, convenient synthetic route, and excellent antiviral activity emerged as a secondary lead compound. The docking results show that compounds 5i, 5k, and 11a have strong interactions with the tobacco mosaic virus coat protein (TMV CP). These compounds also exhibited significant fungicidal activities. Compounds 5g, 5k, 11j, and 11l displayed 9.15–17.45 μg/mL EC 50 values against Pyricularia grisea, and compounds 5h (EC 50: 8.01 μg/mL) and 11i (EC 50: 15.23 μg/mL) exhibited a similar level of EC 50 values with chlorothalonil (EC 50: 7.33 μg/mL) against Physalospora piricola . Preliminary fungicidal mechanism research indicated that compound 5h has a certain destructive effect on the hyphae of P. piricola . This work lays a foundation for the application of laurene derivatives in plant protection.