Phytochemistry and structural diversification of secondary metabolites in the search for antimicrobial compounds
Abstract
A post-antibiotic era, in which common infections and minor injuries can kill, far from being an apocalyptic fantasy, is instead a very real possibility for the 21st century, although it looks like a phrase taken from a tabloid, it is the World Health Organizati on perspective for the problem of antimicrobial resistance in bacteria, so serious that it threatens the achievements of modern medi cine.Bacterial resistance to antibiotics, is defined as the ability of bacteria to survive in antibiotic concentrations that inhibit /kill other of the same species. The growth of antibiotic-resistant pathogens means that in ever more cases, standard treatments no and hospital stays are prolonged. One of the most urgent needs is to minimize the overuse of antibiotics in medicine and agriculture , which accelerates the development of resistant strains. All of these drive up the healthcare system costs and the risk of death. I ndeed, unfortunately, the available data are incomplete because few countries track and monitor antibiotic resistance comprehensivel y, and there is no standard methodology for doing so.Although antibiotics have transformed medicine and saved countless lives over t he past seven decades, no new class of antibiotics has been discovered since 1987, largely because the financial returns for finding new classes of antibiotics are too low. Now, widespread overuse and the lack of new drugs in the pipeline threatens to undermine th eir effectiveness.In this context, pharmaceutical industry needs to be encouraged to develop new antibiotics to supplement those tha t are losing their effectiveness. On the other hand, one of the "rescue" strategies is the exploration of Nature as the most valuab le source for the discovery of therapeutics. In this sense, Natural Products (NPs) have historically been of crucial importance in t he identification and development of antibacterial agents. Its use is justified by the fact that NPs and their derivatives are used as treatment for many diseases, in fact more than half of the currently available drugs have this origin. The NPs have a unique and extensive chemical diversity. As a consequence of being the result of a selection throughout the evolution of the species, the struc tural complexity of the NPs contributes to the specificity in the interactions with the proteins as chemical modulators.In the prese nt project the phytochemical study of vegetal Argentinian species is proposed with the aim of isolation of metabolites in appreciabl e quantity, that through chemical derivatization will allow to access a structural and chemical variety of biologically active compo unds. In addition, by means of a bioguided fractionation of extracts of species with reported antimicrobial activity, the isolation of new bioactive natural compounds is intended.The main objective of this project is the evaluation of biological activity for all t he compounds obtained, against different bacteria, specifically those with multi-resistant antibiotic profile.This interdisciplinary the parts involved, along to the divulgation of the obtained results (as expected from a consistent research work). This leads to th e integral formation of all the members (PI and collaborators), not only as regards to scientific knowledge but also to promote new partnerships and future collaborations between the participating entities. Finally, for all the ab nd applied research and innovation is necessary. As Napoleon Bonaparte said, three things are needed to make war: money, money and more money. There are cheaper wars, but they are often lost, although this is not a war; if we focus on it as such, we could lose i t.
Document Details
- Document Type
- DoD Grant Award
- Publication Date
- Sep 03, 2021
- Source ID
- N629092112052
Entities
People
- Manuela Garca
Organizations
- Instituto Multidisciplinario de Biología Vegetal
- Office of Naval Research
- United States Navy