Evaluation of the potential of the baru fruit against the neuromuscular blocking induced by Lachesis muta muta snake venom

• Grant number: 20/14220-6
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: March 01, 2021
• End date: February 28, 2022
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Pharmacology - Autonomic Pharmacology
• Principal Investigator: Yoko Oshima Franco
• Grantee: Gabriel Ferreira dos Santos
• Host Institution: Pró-Reitoria de Pós-Graduação, Pesquisa, Extensão e Inovação. Universidade de Sorocaba (UNISO). Sorocaba , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The snake venom contains a multitude of substances with simple and complex structures, whose proportion and individual characteristics vary with the species. From the epidemiological point of view, the World Health Organization (WHO) estimates that 5.4 million of people are bitten by snakes each year in the world, becoming a global health problem. The search for alternatives that minimize the severity of the snakebite accident is growing, mainly in natural sources as medicinal plants, including Dipteryx alata Vogel (baru). The objective of this work is to evaluate the effect of baru fruit, in the form of flour, against the neuromuscular blockade induced by Lachesis muta muta venom. The design of study is ex vivo using the mouse phrenic nerve-diaphragm preparation, and conventional myographical technique, in three pharmacological models: preincubation (mixture venom + baru fruit flour, for 30 min), pre venom and post venom. The resulting muscles from the better experimental model will be saved for histological analysis. Our expectancy is to know the antiophidian potential of plant fruit as already seen with barks of tree, considering being a functional food with facilitated administration, in case of confirmed activity. (AU)