Mayaro fever, caused by Mayaro virus (MAYV) is a sub-lethal disease with symptoms that are easily confused with those of dengue fever, except for polyarthralgia, which may culminate in physical incapacitation. Recently, outbreaks of MAYV have been documented in metropolitan areas, and to date, there is no therapy or vaccine available. Moreover, there is no information regarding the three-dimensional structure of the viral proteins of MAYV, which is important in the search for antivirals. In this work, we constructed a three-dimensional model of protein C of MAYV by homology modelling, and this was employed in a manner similar to that of receptors in virtual screening studies to evaluate 590 molecules as prospective antiviral agents. In vitro bioassays were utilized to confirm the potential antiviral activity of the flavonoid epicatechin isolated from Salacia crassifolia (Celastraceae). The virtual screening showed that six flavonoids were promising ligands for protein C. The bioassays showed potent antiviral action of epicatechin, which protected the cells from almost all of the effects of viral infection. An effective concentration (EC) of 0.247 μmol/mL was observed with a selectivity index (SI) of 7. The cytotoxicity assay showed that epicatechin has low toxicity, with a 50% cytotoxic concentration (CC) greater than 1.723 µmol/mL. Epicatechin was found to be twice as potent as the reference antiviral ribavirin. Furthermore, a replication kinetics assay showed a strong inhibitory effect of epicatechin on MAYV growth, with a reduction of at least four logs in virus production. Our results indicate that epicatechin is a promising candidate for further testing as an antiviral agent against Mayaro virus and other alphaviruses.

O vírus Chikungunya tem origem africana e atualmente é encontrado em diversas partes do mundo. No Brasil, os primeiros relatos ocorreram em meados de 2010, e desde então, houve um aumento considerável de infecções, tendo em vista a necessidade de uma maior atenção a esta patologia. Objetivo: realizar uma revisão integrativa sobre Chikungunya, incluindo artigo do período de 2014 a 2020, referente a dados que contemplassem o Brasil, bem como discorrer como se dá o processo de disseminação da doença e suas particularidades, além de dispor sobre os aspectos clínicos, epidemiológicos, imunológicos. Metodologia: foi realizada uma revisão integrativa, onde foram selecionados artigos publicados em três plataformas como bases de dados científicos: Science Direct, Pubmed e Scientific Electronic Library Online (SciELO), utilizando as palavras-chave chikungunya and brazil characterization, transmission, epidemiological aspects, clinical aspects, immunological aspects and treatment. Resultados: Percebe-se que há correlação entre as abordagens utilizadas, relatando aumento de incidência, além de citar as vulnerabilidades para a aquisição de tal patologia. Conclusão: conclui-se que a prevenção deve-se ser prioritária, principalmente com os grupos de risco.