Antimicrobial Activity of Chitosan Oligosaccharides with Special Attention to Antiparasitic Potential

• Autor(a) principal: Silva, Nayara Sousa da
• Data de Publicação: 2021
• Outros Autores: Araújo, Nathália Kelly, Daniele-Silva, Alessandra, Oliveira, Johny Wysllas de Freitas, Medeiros, Júlia Maria de, Araújo, Renata Mendonça, Ferreira, Leandro De Santis, Rocha, Hugo Alexandre Oliveira, Silva-Junior, Arnóbio Antônio, Silva, Marcelo Sousa, Fernandes-Pedrosa, Matheus de Freitas
• Tipo de documento: Artigo
• Idioma: eng
• Título da fonte: Repositório Científico de Acesso Aberto de Portugal (Repositórios Cientìficos)
• Texto Completo: http://hdl.handle.net/10362/122438
• topic: antiprotozoal; chitooligosaccharides; neglected tropical disease; Leishmaniasis; Chagas disease; chitosan; chitin; Drug Discovery; Parasitology; SDG 3 - Good Health and Well-being; SDG 9 - Industry, Innovation, and Infrastructure; SDG 13 - Climate Action; SDG 17 - Partnerships for the Goals

The global rise of infectious disease outbreaks and the progression of microbial resistance reinforce the importance of researching new biomolecules. Obtained from the hydrolysis of chitosan, chitooligosaccharides (COSs) have demonstrated several biological properties, including antimicrobial, and greater advantage over chitosan due to their higher solubility and lower viscosity. Despite the evidence of the biotechnological potential of COSs, their effects on trypanosomatids are still scarce. The objectives of this study were the enzymatic production, characterization, and in vitro evaluation of the cytotoxic, antibacterial, antifungal, and antiparasitic effects of COSs. NMR and mass spectrometry analyses indicated the presence of a mixture with 81% deacetylated COS and acetylated hexamers. COSs demonstrated no evidence of cytotoxicity upon 2 mg/mL. In addition, COSs showed interesting activity against bacteria and yeasts and a time-dependent parasitic inhibition. Scanning electron microscopy images indicated a parasite aggregation ability of COSs. Thus, the broad biological effect of COSs makes them a promising molecule for the biomedical industry.