15.

Phytochemical Study of Myrtopsis corymbosa, Perspectives for Anti-dengue Natural Compound Research

Paul Coulerie, Alexandre Maciuk, Nicolas Lebouvier, Edouard Hnawia, Jean-Claude Guillemot, Bruno Canard, Bruno Figadère and Mohammed Nour

Laboratoire Insulaire du Vivant et de l’Environnement, Université de la Nouvelle-Calédonie, BP R4, 98851 Nouméa Cedex, Nouvelle-Calédonie

Laboratoire BioCIS, UMR CNRS 8076 Université Paris-Sud XI, 5 rue J.-B. Clément, 92296 Châtenay-Malabry, France

Laboratoire AFMB, UMR 6098, Université Aix-Marseille, Campus de Luminy, 13288 Marseille cedex 09, France

Abstract: In order to find new molecules for anti-viral drug design, we screened 102 ethyl acetate extracts obtained from 51 plants native from New-Caledonia for an antiviral activity against the dengue 2 virus RNA dependant RNA polymerase (DENV-NS5 RdRp). Leaf and bark extracts of Myrtopsis corymbosa which strongly inhibited the DENV-NS5 were selected for chemical investigation. We present here the first chemical study of M. corymbosa which led us to isolate three coumarins, namely ramosin (1), myrsellinol (1) and myrsellin (3), and three alkaloids, namely skimmianine (4), γ-fagarin (4) and haplopin (6). These compounds were identified as major compounds from the active extracts of the plant. However, they demonstrated only weak antiviral activity on the dengue virus. Further studies are necessary to know if the antiviral activity is due to a synergy between several compounds or due to the presence of other minor compounds.

Keywords: Rutaceae; Myrtopsis corymbosa; dengue virus; alkaloids; coumarins .