Brazilians develop a dressing based on pineapple that facilitates healing

The badociation of pineapple proteins with the cellulose produced by the bacteria resulted in effective wound healing, ulceration, and burn, according to researchers at Universities Sorocaba (Uniso) and Unicamp, with Foundation support

They produced a compound in the form of gel or plaster based on pineapple proteins, called bromelain, and bacterial cellulose – two elements long studied for medical, pharmaceutical and cosmetic applications.

Bromelain has the property of breaking down the molecules of other proteins – what is called cell debridement – and is therefore used even for softening meat.

"This same characteristic leads him to remove dead cells from the wound, clean them up and speed up its healing," says Janaína Artem Ataide, of Unicamp, lead author of the article published in the Scientific Reports of the Nature group, which shows the results of the joint work.

Cellulose is the most abundant natural biopolymer, produced mainly by plants. But there are also micro-organisms, such as the bacterium Gluconacetobacter xylinus capable of synthesizing it.

"This bacterium is a biofactory," says researcher Angela Faustino Jozala, of the Laboratory of Industrial Microbiology and Fermentative Processes of Uniso, another author of the article. "It produces cellulose as it's a glucose (sugar) polymer, because the product is woven into nanostructures (a nanometer equals one millionth of a millimeter or a billionth of a meter and we call it nanocellulose. "

Jozala explains that" Bacterial cellulose is a highly crystalline linear glucose polymer synthesized extracellularly by the bacterium Gluconacetobacter xylinus in the form of nanofibers because it is product without other polymers (such as hemicellulose and lignin), can be considered a biocompatible material ".

For this reason, it has already been used in several medical applications, for example in transplants and temporary skin substitutes or dressings in the treatment of wounds.

Unite efforts

Both teams knew the work of each other and decided to join forces to produce the new bandage. "As bacterial nanocellulose has already been applied as a healing product, we had the idea of ​​badociating it with a protein with anti-inflammatory and antimicrobial properties," says Jozala.

"We chose bromelain because we already knew its characteristics and because the food industry, when it produces pineapple pulp, throws the bark and stalk of the fruit. Is a cheap source to get it. "

Priscila researcher Gava Mazzola, of Unicamp, who is the director of Ataide and another author of the article, says that Bromelain extraction from pineapple residue reduces the environmental impact of industrialization to produce a product with high added value. In addition, it highlights other important points of the work.

"Nanocellulosic biomembranes are promising in the supply of active ingredients," he says. "Its interesting features for the development of a pharmaceutical or cosmetic product have been aligned with those of bromelain. The final bandage has potential use to help healing processes."

Ataide, in turn, says that a few years ago bromelain was the subject of research at Unicamp. "We went from extracting this biomolecule to pineapple residues to studying its application in pharmacy and cosmetics for the topical route," he says.

"In this scenario, the idea of ​​inserting it into bacterial nanocellulose, which has proven to be the most promising system for its use, has appeared today. have studied the increase in protein stability with the use of nanoparticles of chitosan in the exoskeleton of crustaceans, which has healing properties. "

The first laboratory tests were conducted to see if bromelain actually created an antimicrobial barrier. "Untreated wounds are an open door for microorganisms, which can lead to serious infections," says Jozala. "Therefore, they need a good dressing, which helps with healing and prevents contamination.In addition, it should be able to provide antioxidant activity, to decrease the inflammatory process of dead cells and the pus."

Tests

To carry out the tests, bacterial nanocellulose membranes were immersed for 24 hours in a solution of bromelain.

Pineapple protein was able to meet these requirements. The researchers observed that, 30 minutes after incorporation into cellulose, there was greater release and a nine-fold increase in the antimicrobial activity of the membrane.

"That is to say, a selective barrier was created, which increased protein activity and other important actions for healing, such as increasing of antioxidants and vascularization, "says Jozala

has already gone through the first phase of development of a drug, which is done in the laboratory, to see if it has the desired effect and is non-toxic.

Now there will be phase two, which are animal testing. The work is done in the new Uniso laboratory. In addition to the curative, the new facilities will be used to test, produce and purify biomolecules of interest in various industrial segments (biotechnology, environment, food, pharmaceutical).