ACUTE TOXICITY EVALUATION CAUSED BY CUPUAÇU NIBS SUPPLEMENTATION IN Drosophila melanogaster

Resumo

INTRODUCTION: Parkinson's Disease (PD) is characterized by the progressiveneurodegeneration of dopaminergic neurons in the substantia nigra of the midbrain, resulting in adeficit in the production of dopamine, a neurotransmitter crucial for motor control. PD representsa growing challenge, especially in the face of an aging population and the progressive loss ofdopaminergic neurons, which significantly compromises the quality of life of patients. Given theabsence of curative therapies, there is increasing interest in natural products with antioxidant andneuroprotective properties. Cupuaçu nibs are rich in bioactive compounds, but data on theirtoxicological safety are still scarce. Thus, Drosophila melanogaster is a promising model forpreliminary toxicological assays, given its genetic homology with humans and ease of handling.OBJECTIVE: To perform a dose-response curve to establish the safe concentration of cupuassunibs for the treatment of Drosophila melanogaster. MATERIAL AND METHODS: To determinethe concentration of Cupuaçu, an evaluation of the concentration of Cupuaçu lethal to 50% of theflies (LC50) was performed. The flies were divided into groups that received for 72h foodsupplemented with different percentages of Cupuaçu of 1%, 3%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 50% in thestandard diet. The treatment groups contained 50 flies each, and 4 independent experiments wereperformed (n=4). At the end of the 72h on an ad libitum diet, the number of dead flies was counted.For the evaluation of the toxicological curve, Drosophila melanogaster of both sexes, up to 5 daysold, were used, with 50 animals per group and allocated in vials containing different percentagesof cupuassu nibs 1%, 3%, 5%, 10%, 20%, and 50% in the standard diet. RESULTS ANDCONCLUSION: It was observed that the 50% concentration was lethal to 100% of the animals.The 25% concentration caused approximately 50% mortality, characterizing it as the LC50. Lowerconcentrations (1%, 3%, 5%, and 10%) were considered non-lethal. These data suggest that thecupuassu nibs extract exhibits concentration-dependent toxicity and reinforce the need for priortoxicological evaluations before the use of natural products. The non-lethal concentrations will beused in future functional assays.