Papuacerdrus papuana (f. Muell) h.l.li., A NEW SOURCE FOR TWO BIOACTIVE DITERPENES: FERRUGINOL AND trans-COMMUNIC ACID THAT VIRTUALLY ACTIVE AGAINST SARS-COV-2

Abstract

The study aims to identify the bioactive secondary metabolites from the leaves of Papuacedrus papuana that have not been reported yet so far. Two main antibacterial compounds, ferruginol, and trans-communic acid were isolated from the leaves of the plant through several chromatography techniques, including a TLC-direct bioautography technique. The antibacterial activity of abietane and labdane diterpenes were categorized as strong. The values of MIC were 16 and 4 µg/mL for ferruginol and 8 and 16 for trans-communic acid against E. coli (InaCC B5) and S. aureus (InaCC B4), respectively. In addition, only ferruginol showed a moderate antioxidant activity with an IC50 value of 116.12 μg/mL. By docking studies, both compounds showed their more stable interaction with structural SARS-CoV-2 proteins, i.e., 6vxx Spike glycoprotein and 6m0j spike receptor compared to non-structural proteins such as 3CLpro, Mpro, and RdRp proteases.