Peptides and their interactions with tannins in plant species: use of rapid analysis methods for peptide separation and purification

• Grant number: 24/18387-3
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Program to Stimulate Scientific Vocations
• Start date: July 14, 2025
• End date: August 23, 2025
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Vanderlan da Silva Bolzani
• Grantee: Alexsandro Davi Mantovani de Oliveira
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

One of the research lines of the NuBBE group (Nucleus of Biosynthesis, Bioassays, and Ecophysiology of Natural Products) of the Chemistry Institute of Araraquara (UNESP) is related to the discovery of new cyclic peptides produced by plants, an area of research in natural products still unexplored in Brazil and initiated at NuBBE, with funding from FAPESP Program CEPID - Center for Research and Innovation in Biodiversity and Pharmaceuticals - CIBFar - process CIBFar, Proc. Process no: 2013/07600-3 and from INCT CNPq - National Institute of Science and Technology in Biodiversity and Natural Products - INCT BioNat. 465637/2014-0 and FAPESP process no. 2014/50926-0. This line of research aims to develop and apply sustainable methodologies for the entire experimental process, aiming at the isolation of novel peptides, still without previous studies, but with promising potential to reveal new biologically active structures. The group carried out the investigation of peptides from plant species that are new to Brazil and initiated at NuBBE, IQ Ar, with several peptides isolated and published. Despite the already consolidated research, one of the main challenges encountered in the extraction and purification process of this class of natural products is the presence of interfering substances, such as polyphenols, flavonoids, catechins, and sugars, especially tannins, which greatly hinder the experimental work of separation and purification of this class of natural products of great interest to the pharmaceutical, cosmetics, and food supplement industries (MUTTENTHALER et al., 2021).