Synergistic anti-allergic study of poliphenols of the Vimang extract

• Grant number: 13/19626-7
• Support type: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Effective date (Start): December 01, 2013
• Effective date (End): April 30, 2014
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy
• Principal researcher: Rose Mary Zumstein Georgetto Naal
• Grantee: Carla Daniele Primo
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present work aims to contribute to the discovery of new alternatives that can alleviate the symptoms caused by allergies. Natural substances have been the subject of intense research in view of their pharmacological properties relevant to the treatment of various diseases, including allergic reactions. In this context, our interest has been directed to the Vimang extract with extensive pharmacological properties such as anti-inflammatory, antioxidant, anticancer and anti-allergic. Seeing as many researchers advocate that the biological activity of an extract can be enhanced by synergism between the components of the plant, this project proposes to study the synergistic antiallergic effect of polyphenols isolated from the Vimang extract, such as gallic acid, quercetin, mangiferin, catechin and propyl gallate, which account for much of its pharmacological potential. The choice of these bioactives was based on several reports in the literature which mention that combinations of polyphenolic compounds behave as antihistamines, mast cell stabilizers, immunomodulators, decongestants or leukotriene inhibitors. Thus, these components are mixed in different ratios and these mixtures evaluated for their ability to inhibit mast cell degranulation processes responsible for the onset of allergies. The synergism between the Vimang's polyphenolic components will be studied by two different models: A) The Berenbaun model (1977), which is based on the combination of substances in pairs to determine the bioactivity and construction of an isobologram of activity from which one can pinpoint combinations with synergism, antagonism or additivism; B) The Box- Behnken design (1978) which allows the combined study in different proportions of all the bioactives in a single essay. Substances with greater or lesser relevance to the anti-allergic potential can be defined from this model, as well as to determine the optimal composition of the extract, i.e., the one in which there will be maximum anti-allergic activity.