Avaliação da atividade esquistossomicida e moluscicida da alga marinha: Ochtodes secundiramea (Montagne) M. Howe, 1920 (Rhodophyta, Gigartinales)

Abstract

Schistosomiasis is a parasitic disease caused by trematode worms of the genus Schistosoma that affects almost 240 million people worldwide, with more than 700 million people living in endemic areas. Praziquantel has been widely used in the treatment of patients diagnosed with schistosomiasis since the 1980s. However, it has no effect on immature worms and does not prevent reinfection, which raises the concern with a possible resistance of the worm due to selective pressure by the extensive use. Niclosamide is the only molluscicide recommended by the World Health Organization (WHO) commercially available to control the snail population, however, it has low selectivity, high cost and difficulty in operation. This scenario demonstrates the importance of implementing measures that focus on the search for new alternatives to the drugs currently available for the treatment and prevention of schistosomiasis. The diversity of marine organisms is a promising source for prospecting several compounds, applicable to medicine, agriculture, food and the environment. In this work, an evaluation of the schistosomicidal and molluscicidal activity of seaweed extracts of Ochtodes secundiramea in solvents of different polarities was carried out. The methanol extract demonstrated schistosomicidal activity, the hexane and dichloromethane extracts demonstrated activity in both test models. A metabolomic analysis will be performed to identify a possible active compound against schistosomiasis.