Antitubercular Properties of Substituted Hydroxycyclohexadienones

The in vitro evaluation of a series of (hetero)aromatic-substituted 4-hydroxycyclohexa-2,5-dienones (quinols) and analogues against M. tuberculosis is reported. The most active compound in the series was found to be 4-(benzothiazol-2-yl)-4-hydroxycyclohexa-2,5-dienone 1a with a minimum inhibitory concentration of 0.78 μg/mL. Biochemical evidence for involvement of the small redox protein thioredoxin C - a novel drug target - is also presented.