Plantas condimentares e probióticos modulando a atividade de enzimas envolvidas na hemostase e resposta inflamatória

Abstract

Plants are a valuable source of bioactive molecules with a role in the prevention and treatment of various diseases. In this context, aromatic plants stand out for the production of large amounts of antioxidant, anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial agents. Species such as Laurus nobilis, Ocimum basilicum, Origanum vulgare, Petroselinum crispum, Rosmarinus officinalis, Salvia officinalis and Thymus vulgaris are rich in phenolic compounds. And it has been used in folk medicine to treat digestive and gastrointestinal disorders, with anti-inflammatory, healing and microbicidal functions. Equally important, probiotics exert beneficial effects on the intestinal microbiota and functionality of the intestinal tract, with an adjuvant function to treatments with antibiotics and anti-inflammatories. Phospholipases A₂ (PLA₂s) and proteases are enzymes that participate in different physiological processes in the human body. Such as coagulation, healing and tissue regeneration, and defense, being important targets in the mechanistic study of various pathologies and for the development of new drugs. The high degree of homology between enzymes present in snake venoms and human enzymes, together with the great ease of obtaining these enzymes for use in scientific studies, make these powerful laboratory tools for the study of compounds with clinical-pharmaceutical potential. In this context, the present work aimed to evaluate the effects of aromatic plant extracts and probiotics on the activity of enzymes present in the venom of Bothrops moojeni, aiming to characterize the pharmacological actions exerted by the extracts. In this way, PLA₂s, hemolytic, anti-inflammatory, thrombolytic and coagulant activity was performed in the aromatic plant extracts. All doses of extracts evaluated both in the absence and in the presence of probiotic exerted inhibitions between 15% and 56% on the activity of PLA₂s induced by the venom of B. moojeni, even when submitted to different pHs, with the exception of the extract of R. officinalis at pH 8.0. For hemolytic activity, with or without the addition of probiotic, during incubations, all extracts showed significant inhibitions, ranging from 19% to 60% at the different doses evaluated. In the anti-inflammatory activity, all extracts inhibited hemolysis in the absence and presence of probiotic, but the best results were for the extracts of L. nobilis, O. basilicum, P. crispum and R. officinalis at the lowest dose presenting the lowest values of hemolysis between 0.82% to 15.63%. All extracts showed significant inhibition of thrombolytic and coagulant activities both in the absence and presence of probiotics, except P. crispum which showed coagulant activity in the presence of probiotics. The results demonstrate the potential of these plants to modulate the activity of enzymes that act in human physiology, especially in the processes of hemostasis and inflammatory response. However, future studies must be carried out, thus expanding the knowledge about its mechanisms of action and enabling future applications in the area of human health.