Chemical diversity and pharmacological potential of Hedyosmum brasiliense Mart. ex Miq

• Grant number: 14/17561-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: April 01, 2015
• End date: October 31, 2017
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Botany
• Agreement: Coordination of Improvement of Higher Education Personnel (CAPES)
• Principal Investigator: Maria Claudia Marx Young
• Grantee: Cynthia Murakami
• Host Institution: Instituto de Botânica. Secretaria de Meio Ambiente, Infraestrutura e Logística (São Paulo - Estado). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Respiratory tract infections, chronicle lung diseases, diarrhea, HIV/AIDS, lung, trachea and bronchi cancer, diabetes, accidents and prematurity are the main causes of worldwide mortality according to WHO. Brazil has a rich flora, considered inexhaustible source of biologically active substances, therefore its preservation is critical both for its intrinsic value and its enormous potential as a source of new drugs. Secondary metabolites play a fundamental role in the interaction of plants with the environment and its ecological functions on the plants that produce them suggest that they may act similarly with medicinal effects in humans. Hedyosmum brasiliense is a shrub belonging to Chloranthaceae family, widely distributed in central, southeastern and southern Brazilian regions. Its leaves are used in folk medicine for migraine, stomach pain, ovarian dysfunction, chilblain, rheumatism, as tonic and aphrodisiac, however only analgesic, antidepressant and antimicrobial properties were confirmed. Considering the pharmacological potential of Chloranthaceae family and the intense use of the genus Hedyosmum in folk medicine in Central and South America, this project aims to increase knowledge about the medicinal use of H. brasiliense by the study of its chemical composition and the comparison of the volatile oil composition of male and female plants from Cerrado and Atlantic Forest in different phenological phases and test them for antifungal, antimicrobial, anticholinesterase, antioxidant and antitumor assays, looking for potential new drugs to fight infectious, neoplastic and neurodegenerative diseases. (AU)

Scientific publications

(References retrieved automatically from Web of Science and SciELO through information on FAPESP grants and their corresponding numbers as mentioned in the publications by the authors)

MURAKAMI, CYNTHIA; CABRAL, RODRIGO SANT'ANA; GOMES, KAIO S.; COSTA-SILVA, THAIS A.; AMARAL, MAIARA; ROMANELLI, MAIARA; TEMPONE, ANDRE G.; LAGO, JOAO HENRIQUE G.; BOLZANI, VANDERLAN DA S.; MORENO, PAULO ROBERTO H.; et al. Hedyosulide, a novel trypanosomicidal sesterterpene lactone from Hedyosmum brasiliense Mart. ex Miq. PHYTOCHEMISTRY LETTERS, v. 33, p. 6-11, OCT 2019. (14/17561-8, 14/15299-4)