Silvestrol

Isolated from Natural Source

Silvestrol

Patent & Recognition

Malaysia Patent No. PI2020004121 – “A Composition for the Treatment of Autoimmune Diseases”24

Silvestrol is a naturally occurring rocaglate derivative extracted from the leaves, bark, and twigs of Aglaia species, including Aglaia stellatopilosa. This plant is found in Borneo, particularly in forest habitats in the Malaysian part of the island (Sarawak) and other parts of central Borneo in Malaysia and Indonesia, where it is considered endemic. Known for its potency, silvestrol selectively inhibits the DEAD-box RNA helicase eIF4A, a key regulator of protein translation, making it a notable compound in cutting-edge biomedical research.

Its potent activity has made it a compelling lead compound in studies involving:

1

Oncogenic mRNA translation and cancer progression

2

Antiviral strategies targeting pathogens such as coronaviruses, Ebola virus, and Marburg virus

3

Modulation of inflammatory and immune signalling pathways

4

Development of therapeutics inspired by natural products

References:

1

Hwang BY, Su BN, Chai H, Mi Q, Kardono LB, Afriastini JJ, Riswan S, Santarsiero BD, Mesecar AD, Wild R, Fairchild CR, Vite GD, Rose WC, Farnsworth NR, Cordell GA, Pezzuto JM, Swanson SM, Kinghorn AD. Silvestrol and episilvestrol, potential anticancer rocaglate derivatives from Aglaia silvestris. J Org Chem. 2004 May 14;69(10):3350-8. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/jo040120f

2

Salim AA, Chai HB, Rachman I, Riswan S, Kardono LB, Farnsworth NR, Carcache-Blanco EJ, Kinghorn AD. Constituents of the Leaves and Stem Bark of Aglaia foveolata. Tetrahedron. 2007 Aug 13;63(33):7926-7934. https://linkinghub.elsevier.com/retrieve/pii/S0040402007009428

3

Pan L, Woodard JL, Lucas DM, Fuchs JR, Kinghorn AD. Rocaglamide, silvestrol and structurally related bioactive compounds from Aglaia species. Nat Prod Rep. 2014 Jul;31(7):924-39. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4091845/

4

Ebada SS, Lajkiewicz N, Porco JA Jr, Li-Weber M, Proksch P. Chemistry and biology of rocaglamides (= flavaglines) and related derivatives from Aglaia species (meliaceae). Prog Chem Org Nat Prod. 2011;94:1-58. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC4091845/

5

Othman N, Pan L, Mejin M, Voong JC, Chai HB, Pannell CM, Kinghorn AD, Yeo TC. Cyclopenta[b]benzofuran and Secodammarane Derivatives from the Stems of Aglaia stellatopilosa. J Nat Prod. 2016 Apr 22;79(4):784-91. https://pubs.acs.org/doi/10.1021/acs.jnatprod.5b00810

6

Meurer-Grimes BM, Yu J and Viaro GL, 2004. Therapeutic compounds and methods. US Patent 6,710,075B2. https://pubchem.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/patent/WO-2017214024-A1

7

Rivero-Cruz JF, Chai HB, Kardono LB, Setyowati FM, Afriatini JJ, Riswan S, Farnsworth NR, Cordell GA, Pezzuto JM, Swanson SM, Kinghorn AD. Cytotoxic constituents of the twigs and leaves of Aglaia rubiginosa. J Nat Prod. 2004 Mar;67(3):343-7. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/15043407/

8

Mi Q, Kim S, Hwang BY, Su BN, Chai H, Arbieva ZH, Kinghorn AD, Swanson SM. Silvestrol regulates G2/M checkpoint genes independent of p53 activity. Anticancer Res. 2006 Sep-Oct;26(5A):3349-56. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/17094452/

9

Kim S, Hwang BY, Su BN, Chai H, Mi Q, Kinghorn AD, Wild R, Swanson SM. Silvestrol, a potential anticancer rocaglate derivative from Aglaia foveolata, induces apoptosis in LNCaP cells through the mitochondrial/apoptosome pathway without activation of executioner caspase-3 or -7. Anticancer Res. 2007 Jul-Aug;27(4B):2175-83. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC2787233/

10

Lucas DM, Edwards RB, Lozanski G, West DA, Shin JD, Vargo MA, Davis ME, Rozewski DM, Johnson AJ, Su BN, Goettl VM, Heerema NA, Lin TS, Lehman A, Zhang X, Jarjoura D, Newman DJ, Byrd JC, Kinghorn AD, Grever MR. The novel plant-derived agent silvestrol has B-cell selective activity in chronic lymphocytic leukemia and acute lymphoblastic leukemia in vitro and in vivo. Blood. 2009 May 7;113(19):4656-66. https://europepmc.org/article/med/19190247

11

Kogure T, Kinghorn AD, Yan I, Bolon B, Lucas DM, Grever MR, Patel T. Therapeutic potential of the translation inhibitor silvestrol in hepatocellular cancer. PLoS One. 2013 Sep 26;8(9):e76136. https://journals.plos.org/plosone/article?id=10.1371/journal.pone.0076136

12

Pelletier J, Graff J, Ruggero D, Sonenberg N. Targeting the eIF4F translation initiation complex: a critical nexus for cancer development. Cancer Res. 2015 Jan 15;75(2):250-63. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/25593033/

13

Biedenkopf N, Lange-Grünweller K, Schulte FW, Weißer A, Müller C, Becker D, Becker S, Hartmann RK, Grünweller A. The natural compound silvestrol is a potent inhibitor of Ebola virus replication. Antiviral Res. 2017 Jan;137:76-81.

https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/27864075/

14

Elgner F, Sabino C, Basic M, Ploen D, Grünweller A, Hildt E. Inhibition of Zika Virus Replication by Silvestrol. Viruses. 2018 Mar 27;10(4):149. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC5923443/

15

Grünweller A, et al. 2018. Usage of silvestrol and episilvestrol for the treatment of viral infections. (Patent No. EP 3305290 A1). European Patent Office. https://patents.google.com/patent/EP3305290A1/en

16

Henss L, Scholz T, Grünweller A, Schnierle BS. Silvestrol Inhibits Chikungunya Virus Replication. Viruses. 2018 Oct 30;10(11):592. https://www.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/pmc/articles/PMC6266838/

17

Müller C, Schulte FW, Lange-Grünweller K, Obermann W, Madhugiri R, Pleschka S, Ziebuhr J, Hartmann RK, Grünweller A. Broad-spectrum antiviral activity of the eIF4A inhibitor silvestrol against corona- and picornaviruses. Antiviral Res. 2018 Feb;150:123-129. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/29258862/

18

Müller C, Obermann W, Schulte FW, Lange-Grünweller K, Oestereich L, Elgner F, Glitscher M, Hildt E, Singh K, Wendel HG, Hartmann RK, Ziebuhr J, Grünweller A. Comparison of broad-spectrum antiviral activities of the synthetic rocaglate CR-31-B (-) and the eIF4A-inhibitor Silvestrol. Antiviral Res. 2020 Mar;175:104706. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/31931103/

19

Pillaiyar T, Meenakshisundaram S, Manickam M. Recent discovery and development of inhibitors targeting coronaviruses. Drug Discov Today. 2020 Apr;25(4):668-688. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32006468/

20

Engelmeier D, Hadacek F, Pacher T, Vajrodaya S, Greger H. Cyclopenta[b]benzofurans from Aglaia species with pronounced antifungal activity against rice blast fungus (Pyricularia grisea). J Agric Food Chem. 2000 Apr;48(4):1400-4. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/10775404/

21

Iyer KR, Whitesell L, Porco JA Jr, Henkel T, Brown LE, Robbins N, Cowen LE. Translation Inhibition by Rocaglates Activates a Species-Specific Cell Death Program in the Emerging Fungal Pathogen Candida auris. mBio. 2020 Mar 10;11(2):e03329-19. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/32156828/

22

Cencic R, Carrier M, Galicia-Vázquez G, Bordeleau ME, Sukarieh R, Bourdeau A, Brem B, Teodoro JG, Greger H, Tremblay ML, Porco JA Jr, Pelletier J. Antitumor activity and mechanism of action of the cyclopenta[b]benzofuran, silvestrol. PLoS One. 2009;4(4):e5223. https://europepmc.org/article/pmc/2671147

23

Dose Range-finding and Pharmacokinetics Study of Silvestrol (NSC-783538) In Beagle Dogs https://dtp.cancer.gov/publications/silvestrol_rocaglamide_studies

24

Kon, NF et al., 2022. A composition for the treatment of autoimmune diseases. Malaysia Patent Application No. WO 2022/035308 A1. International Patent WO2022035308-PAMPH-20220217-1691.pdf

25

Liu T, Nair SJ, Lescarbeau A, Belani J, Peluso S, Conley J, Tillotson B, O'Hearn P, Smith S, Slocum K, West K, Helble J, Douglas M, Bahadoor A, Ali J, McGovern K, Fritz C, Palombella VJ, Wylie A, Castro AC, Tremblay MR. Synthetic silvestrol analogues as potent and selective protein synthesis inhibitors. J Med Chem. 2012 Oct 25;55(20):8859-78. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/23025805/

26

Obermann W, Azri MFD, Konopka L et al. Broad anti-pathogen potential of DEAD box RNA helicase eIF4A-targeting rocaglates. Sci Rep. 2023 13, 9297.

27

Victoria C, Schulz G, Klöhn M, Weber S, Holicki CM, Brüggemann Y, Becker M, Gerold G, Eiden M, Groschup MH, Steinmann E, Kirschning A. Halogenated Rocaglate Derivatives: Pan-antiviral Agents against Hepatitis E Virus and Emerging Viruses. J Med Chem. 2023 Dec 21. https://pubmed.ncbi.nlm.nih.gov/38127656/