Project Details
Description
The World Health Organization (WHO) considers diabetes an epidemic and it is estimated that it will
be the seventh cause of death by 2030. In Costa Rica, according to data from the National Institute
of Statistics and Censuses, 2,267 people lost their lives in 2020 as a result of Diabetes mellitus,
32.6% more than the 1,709 deaths registered in 2019 related to this disease. The Ministry of Health
in 2019 reported 12,262 people with Diabetes mellitus, giving an average of 33 people diagnosed
daily in our country.
To control diabetes, doctors recommend oral hypoglycemic medications, subcutaneous insulin
delivery, diet modification, and exercise. But many of these drugs cause side effects, so the
population resorts to home remedies or medicinal plants.
It has been determined that Justicia spicigera (commonly known as insulin) is a plant used for the
treatment of diabetes and is considered promising for the development of new therapies for type 2
Diabetes mellitus (Ortiz-Andrade, R. et al, 2012). Additionally, the Kalanchoe genus has
hypoglycemic properties. In our country there are different species among them: K. pinnnata, K.
blossfeldiana and K. daigremontiana, which, according to the literature, are considered medicinal
herbs, reporting their antidiabetic capacity and other therapeutic effects (Prasad et al 2012; Verma
et al , 2015; Puertas-Mejía et al, 2014).
But, currently there is no efficient system for the correct identification of these plants that are
consumed in traditional medicine. Therefore, this proposal aims to confirm, through more specific
tests, the molecular characterization of the three species of Kalanchoe and Justicia spicigera
collected in our country. In addition, it is sought to study the molecular regions matK, rbcL, rpoB and
rpoC1 in K. pinnata, in order to generate a DNA "barcoding" that allows it to be differentiated from
other species of the same genus, since there is no sequence reported using these genetic markers,
so this project would be the first in the world to generate such information.
be the seventh cause of death by 2030. In Costa Rica, according to data from the National Institute
of Statistics and Censuses, 2,267 people lost their lives in 2020 as a result of Diabetes mellitus,
32.6% more than the 1,709 deaths registered in 2019 related to this disease. The Ministry of Health
in 2019 reported 12,262 people with Diabetes mellitus, giving an average of 33 people diagnosed
daily in our country.
To control diabetes, doctors recommend oral hypoglycemic medications, subcutaneous insulin
delivery, diet modification, and exercise. But many of these drugs cause side effects, so the
population resorts to home remedies or medicinal plants.
It has been determined that Justicia spicigera (commonly known as insulin) is a plant used for the
treatment of diabetes and is considered promising for the development of new therapies for type 2
Diabetes mellitus (Ortiz-Andrade, R. et al, 2012). Additionally, the Kalanchoe genus has
hypoglycemic properties. In our country there are different species among them: K. pinnnata, K.
blossfeldiana and K. daigremontiana, which, according to the literature, are considered medicinal
herbs, reporting their antidiabetic capacity and other therapeutic effects (Prasad et al 2012; Verma
et al , 2015; Puertas-Mejía et al, 2014).
But, currently there is no efficient system for the correct identification of these plants that are
consumed in traditional medicine. Therefore, this proposal aims to confirm, through more specific
tests, the molecular characterization of the three species of Kalanchoe and Justicia spicigera
collected in our country. In addition, it is sought to study the molecular regions matK, rbcL, rpoB and
rpoC1 in K. pinnata, in order to generate a DNA "barcoding" that allows it to be differentiated from
other species of the same genus, since there is no sequence reported using these genetic markers,
so this project would be the first in the world to generate such information.
General Objective
Determinar la huella molecular de especies vegetales asociadas al tratamiento de la diabetes
Research Lines
Biotecnología médica y Biotecnología Vegetal
| Status | Finished |
|---|---|
| Effective start/end date | 1/01/23 → 30/06/25 |
Keywords
- Justicia spicigera
- Diabetes mellitus
- Kalanchoe
- barcoding
- matK
- ADN
- mitocondrial
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