ALGAE PATAGONICAS AGAINST THE VIRUS OF THE HERPES

The Red Federal de Turismo Salud y Termalismo of Argentina informs about Postgraduate course in Biotechnology.

The project is framed into the agreement between the University of Buenos Aires (UBA) and the National University of the Patagonia San Juan Bosco. The Department of Pharmacy of the Faculty of Natural Sciences it is the responsible for its fulfilment in collaboration with the Department of Organic Chemistry of the Faculty of Physical and Natural Sciences, of the UBA.

The "Study of the cell walls of the patagónican algae with possible industrial and / or pharmacological utility", is directed mainly to enlarge the knowledge of the chemical composition of the cell walls of the algae and among them the red and brown algae that, as the responsible of the project explained , "they have prove a pronounced activity against the family of the Herpes viruses that cause the infections and illnesses such as different types of ulcers, bladders and chickenpox."

Regarding the results reached at the present, they highlight that with the red algae (Iridaea Undulosa) and with the brown algae (Scytosiphon lomentaria, Adenocystis utricularis and Lessonia vadosa) they have found important quantities of carragenanos in the red alga and alginatos in the brown ones, both polysaccharides of wide industrial application, especially as gelificants. The polysaccharides are glucides as the starch, the cellulose or the glucógeno .

The investigation team are composed by doctors Carlos Arturo Stortz (Director), María Luján Flores (Co-director), María Cecilia Rodríguez, Alberto Cerezo (Consultant) and the pharmacéutics Nora Marta Andrea Ponce, Mónica Becerra and Alfio Zambón.

The numerous found algae, producers of complex carbohydrates (ficoloides) as the well-known of the genus: gigartina, iridaea, gracilaria, macrocystis and lessonia, possessing a high industrial value.

Nevertheless, the specialists affirm that there are other algae whose potentiality is in phase of study and they don't discard that because its composition these algae could be indispensable in diverse industries such as Chemistry and Cosmetic.

Bearing in mind the socio-economic benefits that it would report to the region patagónica this potential of marine resources, has thought about from the academic instances, the urgent necessity to promote an appropriate scientific formation of the professionals interested in the topic.

The Red Federal de Termalismo of Argentina has been invited to participate in the course of Postgraduate on"Biotechnology and integral use of the microalgas", programmed during the month of October, in the Faculty of Natural Sciences, in Trelew.

Directed by Dr. Mario R. Tredici, Professor of the University of Florencia and President of the International Society of Applied Phytology, it will be imparted by prestigious scientific and specialists of the Universities of Florencia (Italy), Almería (Spain) of Cordoba (Argentina) and investigators of the National Polytechnic Institute and School of Biological Sciences of Mexico.

Biologists and university professionals carrying out works related to this thematic, have expressed their interest regarding this pioneering initiative in the branch of the Marine Biomedicine.

The Red Federal de Turismo Salud y Termalismo whose Chairman is Dr. J.A. Sabatte, was created in February of 2002 and it represents the thermal centers of the whole country. Among their high-priority objectives it is necessary to highlight the insertion of the tourism of health and thermalism in the system of Social Security, in order to facilitate the access of affiliated, private institutions and individuals, to the treatment of chronic pathologies.

Besides stimulating the prevention approaches and that the preventive medicine and of rehabilitation could be inserted definitively in the field of the Social Security. According to those responsible with this experience what it is sought "to get an improvement of the health in order to avoid the manifestation of the illness and to reduce in a sensitive way the fármacos consumption in the country."

TERMAS WORLD AGENCY