Elicitation with acetylsalicylic acid in species of Passiflora sp.

• Grant number: 23/18294-2
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: April 01, 2024
• End date: March 31, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Health Sciences - Pharmacy - Pharmacognosy
• Principal Investigator: Daniel Pecoraro Demarque
• Grantee: Ana Carolina Lopes Simões Fernandes
• Host Institution: Faculdade de Ciências Farmacêuticas (FCF). Universidade de São Paulo (USP). São Paulo , SP, Brazil

Abstract

For their survival and perpetuation, plants are notoriously different from other living beings in that they have a second basic metabolism to resist the biotic and abiotic factors that are inevitable due to their sessile nature. Micromolecules called secondary metabolites, or natural products, are responsible for many activities in plant development, and especially for the plant's defense and response system. Natural products are widely used for human benefit, whether in the production of medicines, cosmetics or in folk medicine itself. With the prerogative of improving the yield of these compounds and looking for sustainable ways to produce them, many studies have explored the ability to elicit the production of secondary metabolites through intentional stimuli in plant culture. In this way, this project aims to investigate the phytochemical response of plants of the genus Passiflora when supplemented with the chemical elicitor Salicylic acid, evaluating the results of this elicitation on their secondary metabolism. The plants will be grown in the laboratory and supplemented with acetylsalicylic acid in the irrigation water. The extracts will be analyzed using high-performance liquid chromatography to evaluate the chemical profiles. HPLC analysis coupled with mass spectrometry will be carried out to dereplicate the compounds, if necessary.