University of Melbourne scientists may have found the secret of the fresh fruit and vegetables centred ‘Mediterranean diet’.
Their research, based in the University’s Bio21 Molecular Science and Biotechnology Institute, points to key biochemical ingredients in fresh fruit and vegetables (and red wine) known as flavonols.
They have found flavonols relax the tissue in blood vessel walls, improving blood flow, and can also protect against the reactive oxygen and nitrogen compounds which cause tissue damage during and after heart attacks.
The research, led by Associate Professor Owen Woodman (Pharmacology), suggests flavonols are good candidates for the development of drugs to prevent and treat heart disease.
Because flavonols are naturally occurring compounds we ingest every day, they are unlikely to have side effects. But there is one snag. They do not dissolve in water, which makes them difficult to administer.
Working with Associate Professor Woodman’s team to develop water-soluble flavonols with improved biological activity is organic chemist, Dr Spencer Williams (Chemistry/Bio21 Institute).
Dr Williams is a specialist in developing ways of making compounds, such as flavonols, in the laboratory. He examines the structure of molecules, invents new ones to answer specific biological questions, and gets someone to make them.
A way to synthesise the key molecule in flavonols has been developed and Dr Williams has identified where to add chemical groups to the structure to make the compound more water soluble and not detract from its biological activity. His expertise in building molecules is playing a role also in research led by Associate Professor Malcolm McConville (Biochemistry) at the Bio21 Institute.
Dr Williams is investigating how the parasites that cause two major human diseases, leishmaniasis and tuberculosis, make and use carbohydrates. Part of the idea of this work is to provide new ways of protecting people against these diseases by disrupting the parasites that cause them.
“For both of these diseases there has been a lack of input by pharmaceutical companies, because they tend to affect the developing world, and the money isn’t there,” he says.
“It’s important that public agencies fast track research in these areas, so perhaps pharmaceutical companies will become interested in later stage research and development.”