Concise Synthesis of 1,4-Benzoquinone-Based Natural Products as Mitochondrial Complex I Substrates and Substrate-Based Inhibitors

A short, efficient one-step synthesis of 2-methyl-5-(3-methyl-2-butenyl)-1,4-benzoquinone, a natural product from Pyrola media is described. The synthesis is based on a direct late C-H functionalization of the quinone scaffold. The formation of the natural product was confirmed by means of 2D-NMR spectroscopy. Additional derivatives were synthesized and tested alongside the natural product as potential substrate and substrate-based inhibitors of mitochondrial complex I (MCI). The structure-activity relationship study led to the discovery of 3-methylbuteneoxide-1,4-anthraquinone (1 i), an inhibitor with an IC₅₀ of 5 μM against MCI. The identified molecule showed high selectivity for MCI when tested against other quinone-converting enzymes, including succinate dehydrogenase, and the Na (+)-translocating NADH:quinone oxidoreductase. Moreover, the identified inhibitor was also active in cell-based proliferation assays. Therefore, 1 i can be considered as a novel chemical probe for MCI.