Subprojeto 20 – Biotransformation enhancement of biodisponibility of bioactive molecules and the use of microscopy techniques

Participante: Gabriela A. Macedo (FEA, Food Biochemistry Lab. Unicamp)

In our lab, we use to produce and isolate bioactive molecules from food as vitamins, enzymes and antioxidants. The characterization of such molecules as functional or important to prevent cancer, diabetes and others disorders are very important and have been done in vitro. There are some interactions with wealth researchers groups in order to establish the correlation between in vitro and in vivo or ex vivo experiments nowadays. An important task of our research is to promote and study enzymes that could enhance the bioactivity and/or biodisponibility of these molecules. One subject is for example hydrolyze epigallocatechin from different source using an enzyme named tannase and liberate molecules use improved antioxidant power. Another example is the hydrolysis of soy aglicones by beta glucosidase and liberation of more actives isoflavones. In synthesis direction, enzyme such as lipases, able to act in surface area under emulsified substrates are very good way to obtain lipophilic molecules with bioactive properties. To design these enzymatic reactions, our lab face problems like substrate degradation, solubility in water (enzymes act most in aqueous systems) and these are not too much different from the problems faced to cells during the assimilation of such kind of molecules. Non-aqueous system for enzymatic catalysis has been used, as well as two fases systems, and immobilization of substrates in different supports, are some of the alternative to solve the interferences above. The biodisponibility of bioactive compounds depends on several properties but, if the biotransformation process could be observed to provide information about the product biotransformed, the variable of these reactions could be better understood. It is listed below 3 abstract showing that microscopy techniques can be effective and very useful in our research area, in different ways.