Schisanhenol derivatives and their biological evaluation against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV).

Schisanhenol (Sol) was isolated from Schisandra rubriflora, and a series of derivatives (1-16, 15a-16a, and 15b-16b) were designed and prepared by chemical modification. The curative and protective effects of these dibenzocyclooctadiene lignan analogues against tobacco mosaic virus (TMV) were evaluated. Most analogues exhibited stronger protective effects than the positive control ningnanmycin. Dibromoschisanhenol (6) at 0.25mM exhibited the strongest protective activity (83.5±1.8% at 0.25mM), and 14-(3, 5-dibenzyloxy)-benzoyloxyschisanhenol (16) showed a significant curative effect (78.0±3.8% at 0.15mM) that was much stronger than that of the commercial virucide ningnanmycin. This study is the first to demonstrate that natural dibenzocyclooctadiene lignans and analogues are active against plant viruses.