From the fields to therapeutic application: investigating the neuroprotective potential of lactic acid bacteria isolated during coffee (Coffea arabica) fermentation on Sporadic Parkinson's Disease

• Grant number: 21/15224-8
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Doctorate
• Start date: October 01, 2022
• End date: August 12, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Biological Sciences - Morphology - Cytology and Cell Biology
• Principal Investigator: Anderson de Souza Sant'Ana
• Grantee: Dionisio Pedro Amorim Neto
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Engenharia de Alimentos (FEA). Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Campinas , SP, Brazil
• Associated scholarship(s): 24/10975-3 - Investigating coffee microorganisms and their impact on the gut-brain axis with 3D in vitro models and biosensors, BE.EP.DR

Abstract

Parkinson's disease (PD) is the second most prevalent neurodegenerative disease in the world. PD can be of genetic origin, or sporadic, which accounts for about 90% of the cases of the disease. PD of sporadic origin has a multifactorial cause, typically associated with environmental factors. Due to its incurable and progressively disabling nature, the current treatments for PD seek to delay and lessen the motor impairment in patients. Nevertheless, the possibilities of intervention, whether pharmacological or surgical, are limited, costly, and have heterogeneous efficacy in the population. Lactic acid bacteria (LABs) are a group of bacteria widely used in the food industry for their ability to ferment carbohydrates, but there is growing interest in their beneficial health properties in humans and animals. Coffee has numerous bioactive compounds that have protective effects on PD, it's one of Brazil's most prominent agricultural products, and it's widely consumed around the world. The coffee microbiota, especially the LABs that participate in its fermentation process, have already been described to present several beneficial activities to humans, but have not yet been challenged in pathological contexts of PD. More and more studies reinforce the existing communication between the gut-brain axis and the role of neuroendocrine cells in this process. However, little is known about the neuroprotective capacity of LABs on neuroendocrine cells or their impact on the body's physiology in healthy models and with sporadic PD from large-scale metabolomics approaches. Thus, we hypothesized that coffee, because of its history in health promotion, could be a promising matrix for isolation of LABs with neuroprotective properties. In this sense, in the present project we propose to investigate the neuroprotective capacity of LABs isolated during the coffee (Coffea arabica) wet fermentation process using pharmacological models of sporadic PD in vitro on neuroendocrine and neuronal cells, and in vivo from the analysis of the metabolic profile of different animal tissues. The confirmation of the neuroprotective action of the isolates will bring new possibilities of action against this disease.

Scientific publications

(6)

(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)

NETO, DIONISIO P. A. M. O. R. I. M.; SANT'ANA, ANDERSON S.. The mycobiota-gut-brain axis in Parkinson's disease: A review on what we know and what paths we can still take to advance this field of study. FUNGAL BIOLOGY REVIEWS, v. 46, p. 11-pg., 2023-06-08. (21/15224-8)

PEREIRA, ANA PAULA MACIEL; ORIOL, STEPHANIE; GUINEBRETIERE, MARIE-HELENE; CARLIN, FREDERIC; AMORIM-NETO, DIONISIO PEDRO; SANT'ANA, ANDERSON S.. Counts of mesophilic aerobic, mesophilic anaerobic, thermophilic aerobic sporeforming bacteria and persistence of Bacillus cereus spores throughout cocoa powder processing chain. FOOD MICROBIOLOGY, v. 120, p. 12-pg., 2024-02-19. (21/15224-8)

ALVARENGA, VERONICA O.; CAMPAGNOLLO, FERNANDA B.; SILVA, ROSICLEIA A.; HUBINGER, MIRIAM D.; LANG, EMILIE; AMORIM-NETO, DIONISIO P.; SANT'ANA, ANDERSON S.. Impact of sublethal treatments on dormant and non-dormant populations of Bacillus cereus spores during spray drying and on their recovery during whole milk powder storage. INTERNATIONAL DAIRY JOURNAL, v. 165, p. 8-pg., 2025-06-01. (21/15224-8, 14/25028-8, 19/16209-2)

SILVA, BEATRIZ S.; AMORIM-NETO, DIONISIO P.; PIA, ARTHUR K. R.; CAMPAGNOLLO, FERNANDA B.; FURTADO, MARIANNA M.; CARVALHO, ANA CAROLINA B. R.; OTEIZA, JUAN M.; SANT'ANA, ANDERSON S.. The fate of Salmonella enterica and Listeria monocytogenes in the pulp of eight native Brazilian and exotic fruits. International Journal of Food Microbiology, v. 420, p. 11-pg., 2024-06-08. (21/15224-8, 16/21041-5, 14/14891-7)

CHINCHA, ALEXANDRA A. I. A.; MARONE, MARINA P.; PIA, ARTHUR K. R.; FREIRE, LUISA; AMORIM-NETO, DIONISIO P.; CARAZZOLLE, MARCELO F.; SANT'ANA, ANDERSON S.. Phenotypic, genotypic, and resistome of mesophilic spore-forming bacteria isolated from pasteurized liquid whole egg. Food Research International, v. 184, p. 21-pg., 2024-03-25. (21/15224-8)

BREXO, RAMON P.; PRADELLA, FERNANDO; CHAVES, RAFAEL D.; CAMARA JR, ANTONIO A.; AMORIM-NETO, DIONISIO P.; FARIAS, ALESSANDRO S.; ST ANA, ANDERSON S.. Fermentative and physiological responses of Saccharomyces cerevisiae LMQA SRC-143 and PE-2 in co-culture with Lactobacillus fermentum: Insights with flow cytometry in the Melle-Boinot process. Biochemical Engineering Journal, v. 221, p. 12-pg., 2025-09-01. (18/19311-0, 14/03791-1, 21/15224-8)