Exposure of ticks Rhipicephalus sanguineus s.l. to the effects of ricinoleic acid esters of castor oil and ozone (potential acaricides): evaluation of biochemical-enzymatic and toxicological parameters.

• Grant number: 21/08570-7
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Post-Doctoral
• Start date: December 01, 2022
• End date: September 30, 2024
• Field of knowledge: Agronomical Sciences - Veterinary Medicine - Preventive Veterinary Medicine
• Principal Investigator: Maria Izabel Souza Camargo
• Grantee: Yousmel Alemán Gainza
• Host Institution: Instituto de Biociências (IB). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Rio Claro. Rio Claro , SP, Brazil

Abstract

Tick control has been carried out through the indiscriminate use of acaricides. However, it is known that the development of resistance to these acaricides by ectoparasites has increased, which leads to the need for new approaches regarding parasite control. Parasite control is based on reducing the frequency of use of synthetic drugs, integrated with other measures, such as the use of immunogens and fungi. Results of studies have shown the preference for drug redesign, based on the knowledge of their mechanism of action at the cellular, subcellular and metabolic levels. Few studies have targeted natural products, especially those that act on the digestive system, the primary interface in the pathogen-vector relationship, and microbial control, especially in the midgut organ that can be mediated by the activity of hemocidins, lysozymes and defensins, in addition to protease inhibitors, as well as oxidative stress. Thus, this project proposes the evaluation of the effects of exposure of ticks R. sanguineus s.l. to castor oil ricinoleic acid esters, ozonized water and the association of both, on their biochemical-enzymatic and toxicological parameters, since the midgut is the region responsible for homeostasis and redox balance, in addition to the absorption of hemeproteins. The ectoparasites will be evaluated in the larval and adult stages, focusing on detoxification enzymes (serinoproteases, esterases, monooxygenase, glutathione S-transferase) of xenobiotics, as well as on the histophysiological changes that may occur in the midgut to elucidate the dynamics of the biochemical-enzymatic and toxicological process.