Prospecção de moléculas com atividade antioxidante em ouriços-do-mar

Abstract

Antioxidant molecules cause a decrease in oxidation, inhibiting the formation of free radicals. Known as reactive oxygen species (ROS), free radicals are molecules with one or more unpaired, unstable, highly reactive electrons capable of oxidizing neighboring molecules to gain electrons, damaging adjacent cells. Oxidative processes and ROS formation occur physiologically and, also in several pathologies, therefore, antioxidants are extremely relevant for disease prevention. Some chronic and neurodegenerative diseases have already been reversed in animal studies with the use of antioxidants such as cancer, cardiovascular disease (including atherosclerosis), autoimmune diseases, diabetes, Parkinson's disease, inflammation (including arthritis), and aging. Pigments found in sea urchins have already been associated with antioxidant activity. Therefore, the objective of this work is to search for new molecules with antioxidant activity in four species of sea urchin. The spines, carapace and coelomic fluid of the tropical species Echinornetra lucunter, Lytechinus variegatus, Arbacia lixula and the species Antarctica Sterechinus neumayeri were used in the study. Individually, the materials were fractionated into solid phase extraction (in C18 cartridges) eluting with 25, 50, 75 and 100°/o methanol v I v. The fractions submitted to RP-HPLC, in column C18 aiming at obtaining more pure molecules. The peaks obtained by chromatography were tested in in vitro antioxidant activity assays and tested too in MALDl-ToF. The species Echinometra lucunter and the Antarctica Sterechinus neumayeri presented promising results, which are demonstrated in this work.