Naamines and Naamidines as Novel Agents against a Plant Virus and Phytopathogenic Fungi

Naamines, naamidines and various derivatives of these marine natural products were synthesized and characterized by means of nuclear magnetic resonance (NMR) spectroscopy and mass spectrometry. The activities of these alkaloids against a plant virus and phytopathogenic fungi were evaluated for the first time. A benzyloxy naamine derivative 15d displayed excellent in vivo activity against tobacco mosaic virus at 500 μg/mL (inactivation activity, 46%; curative activity, 49%; and protective activity, 41%); its activities were higher than the corresponding activities of the commercial plant virucide ribavirin (32%, 35%, and 34%, respectively), making it a promising new lead compound for antiviral research. In vitro assays revealed that the test compounds exhibited very good antifungal activity against 14 kinds of phytopathogenic fungi. Again, the benzyloxy naamine derivative 15d exhibited broad-spectrum fungicidal activity, emerging as a new lead compound for fungicidal research. Additional in vivo assays indicated that many of the compounds displayed inhibitory effects >30%.