Production and analysis of bis-phenylpropanoid amides in cultures of Penicillium sp, a fungus isolated as endophyte from Melia azedarach

• Grant number: 05/02955-1
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Scientific Initiation
• Start date: November 01, 2005
• End date: October 31, 2006
• Field of knowledge: Physical Sciences and Mathematics - Chemistry - Organic Chemistry
• Principal Investigator: Edson Rodrigues Filho
• Grantee: Taicia Pacheco Fill
• Host Institution: Centro de Ciências Exatas e de Tecnologia (CCET). Universidade Federal de São Carlos (UFSCAR). São Carlos , SP, Brazil

Abstract

The present project, proposed for the undergraduate research scholarship of Taícia Pacheco Fill, is intended to develop and apply analytical methodologies for the study of the production of bis-phenylpropanoid amides and similar compounds by the fungus Penicillium sp, isolated as endophyte from Melia azedarach. These compounds have been reported as antiparasitic principles with great potential to be used by humans as antihelmintic. Their molecular structures resemble those of flavolignans produced by some other Meliaceos plants. The analytical methodologies will involve liquid chromatography coupled with mass spectrometry (LCMS) to identify and quantify the amides when the fungus is cultivated in different substrates.