{"id":221456,"date":"2016-07-26T18:54:22","date_gmt":"2016-07-26T21:54:22","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/?p=221456"},"modified":"2017-08-18T14:15:54","modified_gmt":"2017-08-18T17:15:54","slug":"abundance-from-the-hive","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/abundance-from-the-hive\/","title":{"rendered":"Abundance from the hive"},"content":{"rendered":"
\"Experiment

L\u00e9o Ramos<\/span>Experiment to obtain nanostructured systems containing propolisL\u00e9o Ramos<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Anyone who has ever tried to treat a cold or sore throat with medicines made with honey or propolis, the resin produced by bees to seal and sterilize hives, has come across products made by Apis Flora.\u00a0 The company, headquartered in Ribeir\u00e3o Preto, in inland S\u00e3o Paulo State, has been a Brazilian pioneer in the manufacture of products containing these two substances.\u00a0 Established in 1982 by agronomist Manoel Eduardo Tavares Ferreira and chemist Ant\u00f4nio Carlos Meda, Apis Flora has a portfolio of over 100 products including medicines, food items, pharmaceutical supplies and personal hygiene products.\u00a0\u00a0 It is present in all Brazilian states and has more than 6,000 points of sale, mainly in pharmacies and natural products shops.\u00a0 Of the company\u2019s 85 employees, 15 are in the department of research.\u00a0 \u201cOur team is made up of chemists, pharmacologists, biologists, biotechnologists and biomedical professionals.\u00a0 The department of research has six individuals with PhDs, one with a master\u2019s degree, one pursuing her master\u2019s and two with undergraduate degrees,\u201d says Andresa Aparecida Berretta e Silva, manager of research, development and innovation (RD&I) at Apis Flora.<\/p>\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
Company<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Apis Flora<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
R&D Center<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Ribeir\u00e3o Preto, SP<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Number of employees<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
85<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Principal products<\/strong><\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
Medicines and foods made from honey and propolis<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n

The company\u2019s strategy for creating more sophisticated products is embodied in its investment in research and establishment of university partnerships to develop projects in api-phytotherapeutics. \u201cFrom the time the company was established to the mid-1990s, we were focused on less complex products such as syrups and compounds of honey, royal jelly and mouth sprays made with propolis.\u00a0 We invested in R&D and are currently studying and developing more-technologically-advanced products, such as propolis microparticles,\u201d says Raul Ferreira, manager of planning and new business.\u00a0 These microparticles, produced through the process of spray drying, then undergo microencapsulation, which maintains the stability of the active components.<\/p>\n

Created in the Apis Flora laboratories, the propolis microparticles have become top-selling exports. Each year, nearly 18 metric tons of the product are sold to a customer in China, whose name has to remain confidential for business reasons.\u00a0 \u201cLast year, we filed a patent related to the microparticle manufacturing process,\u201d Ferreira says.<\/p>\n

\"Researchers

L\u00e9o Ramos<\/span><\/a> Researchers at Apis Flora: Franciane Oliveira, Juliana Hori, Hernane Barud, Andresa Berretta and Andresa RodriguesL\u00e9o Ramos<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Apis Flora sells its products to customers in 15 other countries in addition to China, including the United States, Canada, Japan, South Korea, and Argentina.\u00a0 Last year exports accounted for 15% of its R$25 million in sales revenue.\u00a0 In Brazil, the company provides industrial inputs to large companies in the pharmaceutical, cosmetics and food industries, such as Johnson & Johnson, Unilever and L\u2019Or\u00e9al. \u201cWe\u2019re a certified supplier of Johnson & Johnson for their infant line made with honey.\u00a0 For L\u2019Or\u00e9al, we sell propolis extract and lyophilized [freeze-dried] royal jelly,\u201d Ferreira adds.<\/p>\n

The company is no stranger to the development of innovative products such as microparticles.\u00a0 Back in the 1980s, Apis Flora began to explore the potential of propolis extract, a substance known for its anti-inflammatory, wound-healing and antimicrobial properties.\u00a0 It also created a new line that combined honey, propolis extract and medicinal plants into a single product. \u201cIn 1983, when we started manufacturing our propolis extract, Brazil had no regulations governing propolis.\u00a0 We worked with the Ministry of Agriculture to draft the Technical Regulation of Propolis Identity and Quality (TRPIQ), published in 2001, that deals with its standardization,\u201d says Raul Ferreira.<\/p>\n

\"At

L\u00c9O RAMOS<\/span>At the company laboratory, tests on medications and growing bacteria for experimentsL\u00c9O RAMOS<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Apis Flora\u2019s first university partnership came about as a result of its need to learn about the chemical composition of Brazilian propolis, and thus establish quality parameters.\u00a0 \u201cAbout 20 years ago, we approached Professor Jairo Kenupp Bastos of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences at the University of S\u00e3o Paulo (USP) in Ribeir\u00e3o Preto, to get his help on this characterization. Up to that time, there were no studies of this kind in Brazil,\u201d says Andresa Berretta, who has worked at Apis Flora for the past 16 years and was responsible for the company\u2019s first more complex product: a medicine produced from propolis extract that treats skin wounds and burns.<\/p>\n

The product formulation occurred as Berretta was pursuing her master\u2019s and doctorate at USP in Ribeir\u00e3o Preto. She explains that it is a thermoreversible cold fluid that becomes a gel when it comes in contact with the skin \u2013 whose temperature is higher \u2013 relieving pain and forming a protective layer against outside agents.\u00a0 \u201cWe conducted tests on animal wounds as well as clinical trials on 32 patients at the Hospital das Cl\u00ednicas in Ribeir\u00e3o Preto, led by Professor Werther Marchesan. The medication is awaiting registration by ANVISA (Brazilian Health Surveillance System) before sales can begin,\u201d she says.\u00a0 This work gave rise to two of the six patent applications the company has filed with the Brazilian Industrial Property Institute (INPI).<\/p>\n

\"Cellulose

L\u00e9o ramos<\/span>Cellulose biomembranes obtained from bacteria of the genus Komagataeibacter<\/em>, used to treat woundsL\u00e9o ramos<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

Biocellulose bandages<\/strong>
\nAnother company innovation is a biobandage made using biocellulose membranes impregnated with propolis extract\u00a0 \u2013 biocellulose is the name given to cellulose produced by bacteria.\u00a0 This study is being conducted together with researchers from the Chemistry Institute of the S\u00e3o Paulo State University (Unesp) in Araraquara, in partnership with Professors Youn\u00e9s Messaddeq (currently at Laval University, Canada) and Sidney Jos\u00e9 Lima Ribeiro. \u201cOur biobandages treat hard-to-heal wounds such as burns and chronic skin ulcers.\u00a0 They shorten treatment time and the pain of patients who suffer from first- and second-degree burns,\u201d says chemist Hernane Barud, project coordinator. According to Barud, who is also a professor at the University Center of Araraquara (Uniara), animal tests and human clinical trials have been conducted under the leadership of Professor Marco Andrey Cipriani Frade of the School of Medicine at USP in Ribeir\u00e3o Preto. The team is currently in the process of completing ANVISA registration.\u00a0 This is one of the Apis Flora projects that has received funding from the FAPESP program for Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE).<\/p>\n

Propolis extract can also be used in developing a mucoadhesive gel to treat the fungal infection vaginal candidiasis.\u00a0 \u201cThis project also has the involvement of Professor Gustavo Goldman of the School of Pharmaceutical Sciences of Ribeir\u00e3o Preto. It was he who conducted the study that explained propolis\u2019 antifungal mechanism of action,\u201d Berreta explains. In March 2016, clinical trials of the new product will begin with patients at the HC [Hospital das Cl\u00ednicas] in Ribeir\u00e3o Preto,\u201d she says.<\/p>\n

\"A

L\u00e9o Ramos<\/span>A powder with microparticles masks the flavor and ensures stability of the propolisL\u00e9o Ramos<\/span><\/p><\/div>\n

The company is also using propolis to develop a medication for rheumatoid arthritis, a disease that can lead to deformity and destroy joints.\u00a0 \u201cOur group was the first to show how propolis acts to inhibit one of the principle channels of inflammation of cells known as inflammasomes, which are related to autoimmune diseases, including rheumatoid arthritis,\u201d says Juliana Issa Hori, biologist and coordinator of the company study.\u00a0 This project is being carried out in collaboration with Professor Thiago Mattar Cunha at the USP School of Medicine in Ribeir\u00e3o Preto.<\/p>\n

In another line of research, propolis extract is being studied for its use as a possible solution to problems encountered by producers of sugarcane and alcohol.\u00a0 \u201cBacterial contamination of alcohol fermentation processes is common and causes huge economic losses.\u00a0 To prevent this, distilleries use antibiotics,\u201d explains Andresa Piacezzi Rodrigues, who heads up Apis Flora\u2019s microbiology laboratory.\u00a0 The problem with using antibiotics is that they leave residue in the sugar and alcohol as well as in other byproducts of the fermentation.<\/p>\n

Apis Flora is also developing phytotherapeutic products from Brazilian biodiversity.\u00a0 The project led by pharmacologist Franciane Marquele de Oliveira, a company researcher, is attempting to create a medicine based on the louro-de-cheiro<\/em> (Ocotea duckei<\/em>) to treat tegumentary and visceral leishmaniasis, diseases endemic to Brazil caused by protozoa of the genus Leishmania<\/em>. \u201cStandard drugs present a number of side effects that cause many patients to abandon treatment,\u201d Oliveira says.\u00a0 \u201cWe have developed a nanotechnology-based system that releases the components of Ocotea duckei<\/em> into the infected tissue,\u201d she says.\u00a0 \u201cWe detected the components with anti-leishmaniacal effect and established a system to carry them throughout the body and we are currently conducting initial in vivo<\/em> tests and human trials.\u201d<\/p>\n

\"Pesquisa-Empresarial_241_02\"<\/a><\/p>\n

Projects<\/strong>
\n1.<\/strong> Development of a nanotechnology based medication from Brazilian biodiversity to treat leishmaniasis (n\u00ba 2014\/50410-3<\/a>); Grant Mechanism: <\/strong>Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE); Principal Investigator:<\/strong> Franciane Marquele de Oliveira (Apis Flora); Investment:<\/strong> R$102,547.75.
\n2.<\/strong> Development of a medication to treat vulvovaginal candidiasis (n\u00ba 2013\/50496-2<\/a>); Grant Mechanism: <\/strong>Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE); Principal Investigator:<\/strong> Andresa Aparecida Berretta e Silva (Apis Flora); Investment:<\/strong> R$425,262.37 and US$123,911.50.
\n3.<\/strong> Obtaining a natural antibiotic through biotechnological process to control contamination of alcohol fermentation processes (n\u00ba 2012\/50215-0<\/a>); Grant Mechanism: <\/strong>Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE); Principal Investigator:<\/strong> Andresa Piacezzi Nascimento Rodrigues (Apis Flora); Investment:<\/strong> R$124,724.00 and US$6,500.00.
\n4.\u00a0<\/strong>Development and analysis of biobandages obtained from bacterial cellulose and standardized propolis extract (EPP-AF) for the treatment of burns and\/or skin lesions (n\u00ba 2011\/51725-0<\/a>); Grant Mechanism: <\/strong>Innovative Research in Small Businesses (PIPE); Principal Investigator:<\/strong> Hernane da Silva Barud (Apis Flora); Investment: <\/strong>R$273,525.00.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"Apis Flora invests in R&D to obtain high-quality products made from propolis ","protected":false},"author":23,"featured_media":0,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"_exactmetrics_skip_tracking":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_active":false,"_exactmetrics_sitenote_note":"","_exactmetrics_sitenote_category":0,"footnotes":""},"categories":[1567,1560,169],"tags":[211,212,249,232],"coauthors":[116],"class_list":["post-221456","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","hentry","category-corporate-research-en","category-innovative-research-in-small-business-pipe-en","category-technology","tag-biochemistry","tag-biotechnology","tag-nanotechnology","tag-pharmacology"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221456","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/23"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=221456"}],"version-history":[{"count":0,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/221456\/revisions"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=221456"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=221456"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=221456"},{"taxonomy":"author","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/revistapesquisa.fapesp.br\/en\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/coauthors?post=221456"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}