Amides from Piperaceae species: metabolomic studies in complex matrices for bioprospecting antimicrobial compounds

• Grant number: 17/15682-0
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: October 01, 2017
• End date: September 30, 2018
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Maysa Furlan
• Grantee: Leonardo Felipe Balarini Freire
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil
• Associated research grant: 13/07600-3 - CIBFar - Center for Innovation in Biodiversity and Drug Discovery, AP.CEPID

Abstract

The study and development of new antifungal and antibacterial agents are topics of relevance in recent decades, since the emergence of resistant microorganisms and opportunistic infections in some intensive care units have corroborated to the relevance of these studies worldwide. In addition, statistical analyzes by the National Biosafety Association indicate that the infections caused by fungi and/or bacteria account for approximately 100,000 deaths per year in Brazil, including public and private health units. Concomitant to the progress of infectious diseases, advances in analytical instrumentation, especially in the last two decades, have contributed to the improvement of strategies directed to the investigation of new compounds from natural sources with some pharmacological properties. The research group of Prof. Maysa Furlan has been develop researches with Piperaceae species that show the accumulation of piperidine and pyrrolidine amides. In this perspective, the metabolomic studies could represent an alternative to design a map of such classes of compounds produced by one selected plant species. In this way, the objective of the present work will be to develop and to apply metabolomic approaches, including the integrated interpretation of analysis by HPLC-DAD, HPLC-MS, HPLC-MS/MS and NMR, for bioprospecting new piperamides with antifungal and antibacterial activities. In order to achieve these goals, collaborative projects were established with Prof. Maria José S. M. Giannini of the Faculty of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Unesp and Prof. Ilana L. B. C. Camargo of the Institute of Physics of USP research groups for evaluation of antifungal and antibacterial properties, respectively, of the isolated compounds. (AU)