Exploring the metabolites of Malouetia tamaquarina (Apocynaceae) against neglected tropical diseases

• Grant number: 20/01092-0
• Support type: Scholarships abroad - Research Internship - Post-doctor
• Effective date (Start): February 01, 2021
• Effective date (End): January 31, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Biochemistry
• Principal researcher: Mônica Tallarico Pupo
• Grantee: Kamila Tomoko Yuyama
• Supervisor abroad: Thomas J. Schmidt
• Home Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto (FCFRP). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). Ribeirão Preto , SP, Brazil
• Research place: University of Munster, Germany
• Associated to the scholarship: 19/09067-7 - Discovering the potential of the secondary metabolites from Malouetia tamaquarina (Apocynaceae) and its endophytes against neglected tropical diseases, BP.PD

Abstract

Trypanosomiasis (Chagas disease and Human African trypanosomiasis -HAT) are the most serious of tropical neglected diseases, affecting 6 to 7 million people in poverty conditions in Latin America and endemic in 36 sub-Saharan Africa countries. Chagas disease and HAT are caused by protozoan parasites from the genus Trypanosoma whose vectors are Triatominae (kissing bugs) in Latin America and Glossinidae (tsetse-flies) in Africa respectively. The treatment of these trypanosomiases is really difficult, because the conventional medicaments are toxic or cause severe adverse reactions and there are not vaccines available. In addition, a recent study of a West African plant from Apocynaceae, Holarrhena africana, conducted by the group of Prof. Schmidt in Germany, showed a promising activity against T. brucei rhodesiense. Since secondary metabolites from plants have been successfully investigated to search for new solutions against NTDs. Our aim is to investigate the potential of Malouetia tamaquarina, an Amazonian plant that belongs to the same family and tribe of H. africana, against NTDs, especially trypanosomiasis. For that, this project will be performed in a cooperation with Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas de Ribeirão Preto, Universidade de São Paulo (FCFRP-USP) and Institut für Pharmazeutische Biologie und Phytochemie (IPBP), Westfälischen Wilhelms-Universität Münster (WWU). The research group of Prof. Dr Thomas Schmidt has all the experience with the metabolites of Apocynaceae plants and the equipment necessary for the success of this project. (AU)