Strengthening Phytopharmaceutical and OMICs Research as well as Biomedical Education in Three Cuban Institutes by Defining the Clinical and Molecular Effect of a Cuban Curcumin Nano-formulation (Curmeric) on Dengue Infection

Summary

Dengue incidence is increasing worldwide, and the severity of disease appears to be worsening. In 2022 Cuba suffered one of the largest and difficult dengue outbreaks in recent years, with a considerable part of the population infected and many presented life-threatening complications. In a previous VLIR-SI project a questionnaire was generated and validated for studying how habits, life styles and environmental factors affect the clinical evolution of viral diseases in the Cuban population. Its application to dengue and COVID-19 Cuban patients allowed us to identify a significant association of a group of poor nutritional/life style habits variables with the development of severe disease, thus having proof that nutrition can have a marked influence on dengue disease outcome in Cuba. Keeping in mind this information we wanted to make use of a previous clinical study that showed a protective effect on COVID-19 disease outcome of an anti-inflammatory/anti-oxidant Cuban herbal medicine extracted from Curcuma longa. We therefore wish to continue the previous VLIR-SI project by identifying molecular proteomic and epigenetic alterations in dengue host blood cells that result from the use of the Curcuma longa extract in dengue infected and non-infected individuals, thus contributing to the use and application of alternative medicine in Cuba.
To accomplish this, the research and educational capacity of two Cuban medical/scientific centers will be strengthened by providing them knowledge and practical skills for state-of-the-art (OMICs) technologies that are indispensable for the abovementioned study. For this, several trainings will be organized in Belgium for researchers and students from the Institute of Tropical Medicine Pedro Kouri (IPK) Cuban National Reference Center of infectious Diseases (Havana), and the Faculty of Medical Sciences Ernesto Che Guevara de la Serna (Pinar del Río). In addition, several seminars and courses on OMICS topics will be given in Cuba.

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