Analytical methodologies to identify and isolate peptides in plant species of Brazilian biodiversity Palavras-chave: Peptídeos cíclicos, Violaceae, Euphorbiaceae, Rubiaceae

• Grant number: 25/24013-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Program to Stimulate Scientific Vocations
• Start date: March 02, 2026
• End date: April 11, 2026
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Vanderlan da Silva Bolzani
• Grantee: Lucas Matheus Nascimento de Araújo
• Host Institution: Instituto de Química (IQ). Universidade Estadual Paulista (UNESP). Campus de Araraquara. Araraquara , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The research of new cyclic peptides produced by plant species from Brazilian biodiversity is a novel area of natural products research, unexplored in Brazil, which was initiated at NuBBE (Center for Biosynthesis, Bioassays and Ecophysiology of Natural Products) of the Institute of Chemistry of Araraquara (UNESP), and is today globally recognized.Thanks to FAPESP funding in long-term and excellence Programs, notably the "Center for Research and Innovation in Biodiversity and Drugs - CIBFar - CIBFar process, CEPID Proc. 2013/07600-3 and the National Institute of Science and Technology in Biodiversity and Natural Products - INCT BioNat, process no. 465637/2014-0, National Program INCT CNPq in partnership with FAPESP process no. 2014/50926-0, the research line on peptides is now globally recognized. The main objective of this research is 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. Since the start of research at NuBBE, IQ/CAr, several peptides have been 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, sugars, and tannins, which greatly hinder the experimental work of separating and purifying this class of natural products of great interest to the pharmaceutical, cosmetic, and food supplement industries (MUTTENTHALER et al., 2021).