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Dengue represents a serious social and economic public health problem; then trying to contribute to improve its control, the objective of this research was to develop phytoterapics for dengue treatment using natural resources from Caatinga biome. Galactomannans isolated from Adenanthera pavonina L., Caesalpinia ferrea Mart., and Dimorphandra gardneriana Tull were chemically sulfated in order to evaluate the antioxidant, and antiviral activities and the role in the inhibition of virus DENV-2 in Vero cells. A positive correlation between the degree of sulfation, antioxidant and antiviral activities was observed. The sulfated galactomannans showed binding to the virus surface, indicating that they interact with DENV-2. The sulfated galactomannans from C. ferrea showed 96% inhibition of replication of DENV-2 followed by D. gardneriana (94%) and A. pavonina (77%) at 25 µg/mL and all sulfated galactomannans also showed antioxidant activity. This work is the first report of the antioxidant and antiviral effects of sulfated galactomannans against DENV-2. The results are very promising and suggest that these sulfated galactomannans from plants of Caatinga biome act in the early step of viral infection. Thus, sulfated galactomannans may act as an entry inhibitor of DENV-2.

The caatinga, an exclusively Brazilian biome, is one of the most endangered vegetation systems in the planet. To be exploited rationally, its potential needs to be scientifically demonstrated. Among these is the faveleira, used in northeastern Brazil. It stands out for its extraordinary drought resistance and medicinal properties. The objective of this study was to assess the therapeutic potential of compounds extracted from Cnidoscolus quercifolius Pohl in preventing disease and its rational use as a herbal therapeutic tool. The methodology began with the collection and herborization of the plant material, to obtain the chemical compounds, preliminary phytochemical analysis, and extraction of the constituents of the active extracts. To determine the biological activities the authors conducted investigation of antioxidant and antimicrobial activities, inhibition capacity of the acetylcholinesterase enzyme, and initial assessment of toxicity of the extracts. The results demonstrated great potential as an antimicrobial agent, an important antioxidant capacity, and acetylcholinesterase inhibition response with no significant difference compared with the reference drug. The authors expect to develop a new herbal product, resulting in lower production costs and that, consequently, could be commercialized in more accessible form to the population, highlighting the risk reduction of contraindication of this category of medications.

Resumo Dois terços da população mundial vivem em áreas infestadas com mosquitos vetores da dengue, especialmente o Aedes aegypti. Este estudo realizou um levantamento de dados sobre casos de dengue no município de Picos, no Estado do Piauí, Brasil, entre os anos de 2007 e 2011, enfatizando alguns fatores envolvidos em sua transmissão. Os dados foram coletados no Centro de Zoonoses de Picos da Secretaria Municipal de Saúde e no Sistema de Informação da Febre Amarela e Dengue (SISFAD) do Programa Nacional do Controle da Dengue (PNCD). Durante os anos de 2007, 2008, 2009, 2010 e 2011, foram visitados, respectivamente, 116.301, 182.024, 181.892, 187.619 e 195.377 imóveis pelos agentes de controle de endemias (ACE). As residências foram os estabelecimentos com maior positividade para focos de larvas de Aedes aegypti (p<0,05). Dentre os depósitos inspecionados, as larvas predominaram em armazenadores de água rebaixados (tambores) e elevados (caixas-d’água). Testes sorológicos confirmaram um total de 85 casos em 2007, 117 em 2008, 221 em 2009, 296 em 2010 e 217 em 2011. A média de casos foi mais expressiva em pacientes com idade entre 20-34 anos (p<0,05). No ano de 2011, foram identificados, pela primeira vez, focos de Aedes albopictus, encontrados principalmente em tambores de água. Portanto, o número de casos vem aumentando, o que sugere que o controle vetorial da transmissão pode sofrer forte impacto a partir da ação de vigilância epidemiológica em âmbito coletivo, uma vez que depósitos de água peri ou intradomiciliares representaram os locais predominantes para a procriação de vetores.

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