Andrade Neto, Valter Ferreira deMelo, Brena Karisa Campos de2023-01-042023-01-042022-01-31MELO, Brena Karisa Campos de. Quimioterapia experimental antimalárica com extratos de pólen apícola de cocos nucifera desidratado. Orientador: Valter Ferreira de Andrade Neto. 2022. 82f. Dissertação (Mestrado em Ciências Biológicas) - Centro de Biociências, Universidade Federal do Rio Grande do Norte, Natal, 2022.https://repositorio.ufrn.br/handle/123456789/50848Malaria is an acute infectious tropical disease caused by Plasmodium parasites. There are five species of Plasmodium causing malaria in humans, P. falciparum, P. vivax, P. malariae, P. ovale and P. knowlesi. In 2020, 241 million cases of malaria were registered, remaining as one of the main infectious diseases in the world. Most of the malaria research focus on the search for new antimalarial drugs, as there is ongoing recurrence of Plasmodium strains resistant to the current antimalarial treatment, including Artemisinin-based combination therapies (ACTs). The therapeutic use of medicinal plants has long contributed to the treatment of diseases. Regarding malaria treatment, many drugs such as quinine and artemisinin are derived from plants. Studies using bioactive compounds, extracted from plants, have shown biological activities such as anti-inflammatory, antimicrobial, antifungal, anticancer and insecticidal. In this context, the present work sought to investigate the antiplasmodial potential of an extract of bee pollen from Cocos nucifera. To analyze the suppression of parasitemia, female Swiss mice weighing 27 ± 2 g at 6 to 10 weeks of age were divided into groups of 5 animals each. Mice were infected with 1x106 of red blood cells parasitized by Plasmodium berghei ANKA, and treated orally, “per gavage” for 4 consecutive days. Five experimental groups were used: (I) negative control group treated with water; test groups with 250 mg/kg (II), 500 mg/kg (III) and 1000 mg/kg (IV) with bee pollen extract; and (V) positive control group with 25 mg/kg of chloroquine. Antimalarial activity was evaluated by the percentage of parasite growth inhibition in the test groups compared to the negative control group. Additionally, the in vivo assay had the cumulative mortality, acute toxicity of the extract and histopathological analysis performed; during the in vitro assay, the cytotoxic activity of the extract were evaluated in HepG2 cells, using six concentrations, from 0.01-1,000 μg/mL for 24 h. Analyzes of the extract chemical composition GC/MS and LC/MS were also performed. The analysis of the pollen extract chemical composition revealed the presence of fatty acids, coumarins, flavonoids and terpenes. In the in vivo acute toxicity test, no signs of toxicity and mortality were observed, as well as the histopathological analyzes showed no changes in relation to the control. In the in vitro cytotoxicity evaluation, it was possible to observe that the extract maintained 100% cell viability at all concentrations applied. The antiplasmodial assay demonstrated the suppression of parasitemia at concentrations of 500 mg/kg and 1000 m/kg, with 49% and 57% of suppression, respectively. In summary, it is possible to observe the promising results of bee pollen crude extract against Plasmodium infection. Treatment with the extract was able to significantly reduce parasitemia in mice, without inducing toxicity in vivo and in vitro. However, complementary studies are still necessary to isolate the extract bioactive components and evaluate its activity against Plasmodium strains.Acesso AbertoMaláriaPólen apícolaPlasmodium berghei ANKAAntimaláricosmasterThesisCNPQ::CIENCIAS BIOLOGICAS