Bioprospecting of photosensitizers and natural bioactive substances in Eugenia chlorophylla and development of analytical procedures

Author(s)

Caroline Caramano de Lourenço

• Document type: Master's Dissertation
• Press: Campinas, SP.
• Institution: Universidade Estadual de Campinas (UNICAMP). Instituto de Biologia
• Defense date: 2012-02-24

Examining board members

Marcos José Salvador; Cristiane Yumi Koga Ito; Claudia Regina Baptista Haddad

• Advisor: Marcos José Salvador

Abstract

This study aimed at making a chemical-pharmacological search for prospection of natural photosensitizers in photodynamic therapy (PDT) and of bioactive compounds accumulated in the ethanolic extract of leaves from Eugenia chlorophylla (Myrtaceae) and to study the chemical characterization and antimicrobial activity of essential oils from leaves, stems and flowers of this plant species. For this purpose, we carried out the preparation of the crude plant extract (hexane and ethanol) from the leaves of E.chlorophylla followed by the assessment of light absorption in the visible spectral region of interest could be useful for application in PDT. The crude ethanol extract was subjected to a liquid-liquid extraction with hexane, dichloromethane and butanol. The best results for the absorption of light in the visible spectral region of interest to gets with usefulness for application in PDT were obtained for the crude extract and dichloromethane fraction, which were evaluated for their characteristics in steady-state fluorescent emission mode and excitement (preliminary characterization of photochemical properties). Still, it has adequate methodology was developed for an initial assessment of the photochemical efficiency of extracts (production of singlet oxygen, DPBF test 1.3-diphenylisobenzofuran) as well as the adequate conformed for the achievement of bioassays in the presence and absence of light. Evaluation of antimicrobial activity was carried out in vitro with a crude ethanol extract and their fractions from liquid-liquid partition, in the absence of laser irradiation, determining the values of minimum inhibitory concentration (MIC) in antimicrobial testes for bioactive samples and estimating the sub-inhibitory concentration values which would be used in antimicrobial PDT. Standardization of the experimental protocol of in vitro antimicrobial PDT was carried out against Gram positive and Gram-negative bacteria and yeast the effect of the crude ethanol extract and the dichloromethane fraction evaluated as natural photosensitizes in antimicrobial PDT using 11indicator strains. According to results obtained from the crude ethanol extract (ECB) and its dichloromethane fraction (ECD) showed light absorption in the region from 600 to 800 nm, it was demonstrated that singlet oxygen was formed in the assay with DPBF when irradiated by laser ( ?=660nm) showed effective results in the inactivation of antimicrobial PDT in some of the indicator strains (bacteria and yeasts) when irradiated in a single session for 5 min with InGaA1P laser diode. Along with the test result with DPBF, research using specific inhibitors of the photochemical mechanism in a biological model suggests that the dominant photochemical mechanism for ECD is the type II (mediated by the formation of singlet oxygen). We carried out the phytochemical study monitored by light absorption in the visible region (400 to 830nm), in which the evaluation of photochemical efficiency and biological activities and the results of the study of dereplication of the crude ethanolic extract and the ECD fraction by ESI-MS/MS suggest the presence of quinic acid in these samples. Since the fresh leaves of E. chlorophylla have an intense smell and this project also contemplated a search for bioactive substances a study was carried out for the chemical characterization and antimicrobial activity of essential oils from leaves, stems and flowers of the plant species. The chemical characterization of the major constituents of the essential oil was performed by gas chromatography (GC-MS). Essential oils from leaves, stems and flowers of E. chlorophylla were obtained by hydrodistillation and presented a yield of 0.01 to 0.1%. Seventy-five compounds were identified, representing over 85% of the total oil. The main components were E-caryophyllene (flowers), caryophyllene oxide (stem, leaves and flowers), globulol (stems and laves) and T-muurolol, 1-epi-? cubenol, and ?-cadinol (stem, leaves and flowers). All essential oils studied showed mild to moderate antimicrobial activity mainly associated with Gram positive bacteria and Candida albicans with results similar to those observed in the literature for this plant species. An exception was the stem oil collected in 2011 that was not active in the experimental conditions used and is constituted predominantly (85.4%) for an aliphatic constituent not identified by GC-MS. Was verified variation in the minimum inhibitory concentration values of essential oils of E. chlorophylla with the year of collect and with storage time (AU)

• FAPESP's process: 10/00889-0 - SEARCH OF NATURAL PHOTOSENSITIZERS AND BIOACTIVE COMPOUNDS IN Eugenia chlorophylla AND ASSESSIMENT OF ANALYTICAL PROCEDURES.
• Grantee: Caroline Caramano de Lourenço
• Support Opportunities: Scholarships in Brazil - Master