Phytochemical study of Qualea grandiflora Mart. (Vochysiaceae) and its antimalarial potential evaluation

Abstract

Malaria is one of the most important infecto-parasitary diseases in the world. The resistance of Plasmodium falciparum to known drugs and the low research funding for the search on new alternatives to attack this vector, drastically increases this scenario. The quest for natural products that may block biological processes vital to P. falciparum biological cycle is a rational strategy that is being used in the finding of new chemical prototypes that may destroy the parasite. One particularly interesting target is heme polymerization. In the acid digestive vacuole, hemoglobin is degraded producing toxic heme, the Plasmodium thus polymerizes this molecule into a crystalline polymeric substance called hemozoin or malarial pigment. The research strategy of this proposal will support the implementation of an in vitro assay aiming to detect inhibition on heme polymerization. This will be developed and performed in the Núcleo de Bioensaios, Biossíntese e Ecofisiología de Produtos Naturais NuBBE and will be adapted to known sophisticated chromatographic hyphenated techniques with the solely objective to identify promising antimalarial plant species from the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest and thus contribute with the following ongoing FAPESP funded projects: Hemin adduct induction in complex natural matrixes: Development of new chromatographic methodologies aiming to detect new antimalarial drugs (2005/02857-0); Looking for new natural product molecules with potential antitumoral, antioxidant, antifungic, antidiabetic and acetylcholinesterase and myeloperoxidase inhibitors from plants of the Cerrado and Atlantic Forest (2004/07932-7) and Conservation and sustainable use of the plant diversity from Cerrado and Atlantic Forest: Chemical diversity and prospection for potential drugs, Phase II (2003/02176-7), which main goal is the bioprospection of São Paulo State’s plant species. (AU)