<p>Cold water benthic environments are a prolific source of
structurally diverse molecules with a range of bioactivity against human
disease. Specimens of a previously chemically unexplored soft coral, <i>Drifa</i>
sp., were collected during a deep-sea cruise that sampled marine invertebrates
along the Irish continental margin in 2018. Tuaimenal A (<b>1</b>), a compound representing new
carbon scaffold with a highly substituted chromene core, was discovered through
the exploration of the secondary metabolome of the soft coral through
NMR-guided fractionation. VCD analysis was used to determine absolute
stereochemistry. This molecule demonstrates a strong profile for inhibition of
the main protease (Mpro) of SARS-CoV-2 based on <i>in silico </i>docking
experiments. </p>
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