Industrial waste has emerged as an unlikely source of potential neurological treatments, thanks to an international research project.
Researchers have set up a joint lab spanning Brazilian and Italian universities dedicated to the development of new drugs for the treatment of Alzheimer’s disease.
And a key focus area is to identify compounds with the potential for drug development in industrial waste, particularly in cashew nut shell liquid (CNL); a natural oil considered to be a by-product of the industrial processing of cashew nuts, with a high content of phenolic compounds.
The project brings together researchers from the Università di Bologna (UNIBO) and four Brazilian universities.
Speaking at a research event in Italy this week, Laura Bolognesi, who created the B2AlzD2 joint lab, said: “We need to integrate the concept of sustainability into the search for bioactive molecules. This must be the keyword. If we adopt waste as a raw material for drug development, the products resulting from the research will be inherently sustainable.”
The group’s work also takes a One Health approach, Bolognesi explained. Conceived at the turn of the century, this concept refers to an integrated approach that recognises the link between human, animal, plant and environmental health.
She said: “It’s a holistic vision in which everyone involved must be included. We believe that it’s not enough just to find a new drug that’s potent and bioavailable. It must also be accessible to the people who need it. In the case of Chagas disease, for example, more than 90 per cent of affected patients don’t have access to treatment, even though they live in three major economies [ Brazil, Argentina and Mexico ].”
Another concern of the B2AlzD2 Joint Lab, said Bolognesi, is to integrate green chemistry principles into its drug development pipeline.
Luiz Carlos Dias, a professor at the State University of Campinas (UNICAMP), another member of the project, said: “Our work touches on several SDGs [ Sustainable Development Goals of the 2030 Agenda ], and its central goal is to reduce the time it takes to discover drugs,” he said.