Abstract

This manuscript discusses the experience of the research group BIOPROS (Molecular Bioprospecting in the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity) from the Federal University of Viçosa in the field of bioprospecting. We describe our experience on the search for antitumor compounds from the collection of extracts of native tree species from the Atlantic Forest biome. Presenting an interdisciplinary approach, integrating knowledge of forestry engineering, bioinformatics and natural products chemistry, the bioprospecting research of the BIOPROS group has innovated in the generation of pharmacochemical knowledge of native species of the Atlantic Forest. For the composition of the extract library a total of 220 plant species distributed in 57 botanical families and 140 genera were identified. 196 extracts from 49 plant species were produced; all of them evaluated for cytotoxic activity. By showing the process of obtaining a promising antitumor activity withanolides compounds from Athenaea velutina, a species hitherto little known to science, this manuscript shows our sequence of methodological steps used to unravel bioactive natural products from fragments of Atlantic Forest. The research follows the premises of the Convention on Biological Diversity, regarding the creation of strategies for the sustainable use of biodiversity.

Highlights

  • The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, was an important milestone for the international discussion on environment-related issues[1]

  • The Convention on Biological Diversity, which is an international agreement that recognizes the sovereign rights of States over their natural resources, gave new dimension for molecular bioprospecting with clearer rules for the sustainable use, conservation, and equitable sharing of benefits derived from biodiversity[1]

  • A bioprospecting program based on the sustainable use of life biodiversity is paramount to developing countries such as Brazil, to reap economic benefits and to promote the protection and conservation of biodiversity in accordance with the CBD's guidelines[1]

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Summary

Introduction

The Convention on Biological Diversity (CBD) established by the United Nations Conference on Environment and Development (UNCED), held in Rio de Janeiro in June 1992, was an important milestone for the international discussion on environment-related issues[1]. Molecular bioprospecting of plant extracts: Experience report of the BIOPROS/UFV group in the search for antitumor compounds. Leite, Simão e Silva measures for the identification, conservation, and sustainable use of biological diversity and its components In this context, research aimed to know the pharmacochemical properties of natural resources are strategic to achieve the objectives of the CBD. The Molecular Bioprospecting in the Sustainable Use of Biodiversity group (BIOPROS; www.biopros.ufv.br), has been producing extracts from the Atlantic Forest species for many years (BIOPROS Extracts Library). To: inventory a fragment of Atlantic Forest (Mata do Paraíso, Federal University of Viçosa); develop the computerized MAPA platform; fix the ID MAPA plates code on the trees; access leaves and twigs by random strategy; perform plant material extraction; screen extracts against cancer cells; identify natural products responsible for cytotoxic activity

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