Design and synthesis of potent inhibitors of bc1 complex based on natural product neopeltolide

Abstract Neopeltolide, a natural product isolated from deep-water sponge specimen of the family neopeltidae, has been proven to be a novel inhibitor of cytochrome bc1. In this study, a series of neopeltolide derivatives was designed by replacing the 14-membered macrolactone with indole ring and confirmed by 1H NMR, 13C NMR, and HRMS. Based on the binding mode of 12h with bc1 complex, the IC50 values of compounds 16a-f (ranging from 0.70 to 1.46 μM) were improved significantly than the ester derivatives 12a-u by replacing the ester with amide linker. Subsequently, the molecular docking results indicated that compound 16e could form a π-π interaction with Phe274 and two H-bonds with Glu271 and His161 and the latter H-bond was found to account for its high activity. The present work accelerates the discovery of novel bc1 complex inhibitors to deal with the resistance that the existing bc1 complex inhibitors are facing and provides a valuable idea for the design of new fungicides.