Brachiaria plantaginea as a Potential (New) Source of Shikimic Acid

What is it about?

Shikimic acid is the starting material for synthesis of the antiviral drug Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®), which is used to treat influenza A, including virus subtypes H1N1 and H5N1. However, shikimic acid is a scarce and expensive chemical; so, there is an urgent need for the production of large amounts of shikimic acid from different sources and the possibility of using Brachiaria plantaginea, abundant grassy in Brazil, as an alternative source of Shikimic acid is being investigated. This study shows the results of shikimic acid accumulation in B. plantaginea after spraying with the herbicide glyphosate and the applicability of the near infrared spectroscopy, which is a fast and clean technique, combined with partial least square regression for the quantification of Shikimic acid in B. plantaginea.

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Why is it important?

There is a growing concern about the influenza A, especially subtypes H1N1 and H5N1 for their high transmission and mortality rates. Shikimic acid, the starting material for industrial synthesis of the antiviral Oseltamivir (Tamiflu®, used against influenza A) is scarce, obtained mainly from seeds of Illicium verum, a shrub native in China, and I. anisatum, native in Japan. Knowing that shikimic acid can be cummulated in Brachiaria plantaginea, an abundant grassy in Brazil, in this work we investigated the glyphosate dose and exposure period of the B. plantaginea to the herbicide that would result in the greatest accumulation of shikimic acid. Then, we proposed a fast and clean procedure for the quantification of shikimic acid in samples of B. plantaginea using near infrared spectroscopy (NIR) combined with partial least squares regression (PLS).