IN VITRO EVALUATION OF THE POTENTIAL OF BARBATIMÃO (STRYPHNODENDRON ADSTRINGENS) EXTRACTS TO INDUCE CROSSLINKING IN CORNEAS

• Grant number: 16/19933-5
• Support Opportunities: Regular Research Grants
• Start date: February 01, 2018
• End date: July 31, 2020
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry - Chemistry of Macromolecules
• Principal Investigator: Patrícia Alessandra Bersanetti
• Grantee: Patrícia Alessandra Bersanetti
• Host Institution: Escola Paulista de Medicina (EPM). Universidade Federal de São Paulo (UNIFESP). Campus São Paulo. São Paulo , SP, Brazil
• City of the host institution: São Paulo
• Associated researchers: Adriana Karaoglanovic Carmona ; Andreia de Araújo Morandim ; Paulo Schor

Abstract

Keratoconus is an ectasia that affects the shape and thickness of the cornea, resulting in loss of visual acuity and consequently the life quality of the patients, due to the loosening of collagen fibrils of the stroma. Some treatment methods are useful for the correction of refractive errors, but have no apparent effect on disease progression. A potential treatment for keratoconus, which acts at molecular level, is the corneal crosslinking that promotes the formation of new chemical bonds in the stroma, after the application of riboflavin and ultraviolet light at 365 nm. As a result of this process, there is an increase of the biomechanical strength and resistance of the cornea, with consequent decrease in the rate of keratoconus progression. Thus, it is of great interest to research new crosslinking possibilities, as the application of natural products. Thus, during the development of this project will evaluate the efficiency of barbatimão extracts, which have high polyphenol content, in crosslinking induction in corneas of slaughter animals. Corneas will be treated in vitro with the various barbatimão extracts prepared and the effects of the structural change will be assessed by: mechanical testing, differential scanning calorimetry and enzymatic degradation. In addition, the cytotoxicity and diffusion of the extracts by the corneal epithelium will be evaluated. Thus, this study will make it possible to evaluate the potential of natural products in the modification of corneal properties. (AU)

Scientific publications

(The scientific publications listed on this page originate from the Web of Science or SciELO databases. Their authors have cited FAPESP grant or fellowship project numbers awarded to Principal Investigators or Fellowship Recipients, whether or not they are among the authors. This information is collected automatically and retrieved directly from those bibliometric databases.)

BERSANETTI, PATRICIA ALESSANDRA; ITO DA CRUZ, LUIZ GUILHERME; CARLSTRON, REGINA; SCHOR, PAULO; MORANDIM-GIANNETTI, ANDREIA DE ARAUJO. DSC characterization of enzymatic digestion of corneas treated with plant extracts rich in polyphenols. JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, v. 138, n. 5, p. 3797-3802, DEC 2019. (16/19933-5)

BERSANETTI, PATRICIA ALESSANDRA; MARQUINI, ALINE DE ASSIS; MORANDIM-GIANNETTI, ANDREIA DE ARAUJO. DSC analysis of the influence of time and concentration of Stryphnodendron adstringens extract on corneal cross-linking. JOURNAL OF THERMAL ANALYSIS AND CALORIMETRY, v. 148, n. 1, p. 5-pg., 2022-11-10. (16/19933-5)