Alzira Batista Cecilio
Accepted Abstracts: Altern Integ Med
For decades, researches have been seeking in obtaining new drugs though the knowledge gained by popular medicine. Phytotherapy is spread in some regions of Brazil, being sometimes the only alternative for treatment. In this scenario, there is growing interest in the search for novel compounds. Despite the advances made with synthetic products, natural medicine is a valuable field of research, since the biodiversity is the source of a wide range of bioactive molecules. It is known that secondary metabolites have a wide spectrum of biological activities, including potential antiviral and antiparasitic effect. Estimates suggest that 70% of drugs for infectious diseases and 67% of anticancer are either natural products or derived from them. Natural products, either pure compounds or as standardized plant extracts, provide unlimited opportunities for the development of new leads. The chemical composition of most Brazilian plants is still unknown, representing a potential to be exploited. An ethno pharmacological approach was chosen for screening extracts derived from plants used in traditional medicine to treat diseases such as rotavirus and dengue virus infections. In this study, ethanolic crude extracts from 14 medicinal species of 8 different botanical families were studied to detect antiviral activity. The complete viral inhibition was observed only with the crude extract of some of the plants selected. When fractioned all the fractions obtained showed lower antiviral activity than the crude extract. This result suggests that more than one compound are involved in the observed antiviral activity in a synergic effect.
Alzira Batista Cecilio has a degree in Biological Sciences from the Catholic University of Minas Gerais, Master?s and Ph.D. in Biological Sciences (Microbiology) from the Federal University of Minas Gerais and póst-doc in Health Science from Research Center René Rachou. She is currently Assistant Professor at the Pontificia Catholic University of Minas Gerais and researcher at Fundação Ezequiel Dias. Has experience in the area of Microbiology with emphasis on Virology and Molecular Diagnostics, mainly in the following topics: dengue virus, transovarial transmission, diagnosis and molecular detection, use of biodiversity products as antiviral, RNAi, production of recombinant protein and monoclonal antibodies.
Alternative & Integrative Medicine received 476 citations as per Google Scholar report
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