THOMASIANS won the Biochemistry and Molecular Biology Education Best Poster Award for their study on gout treatment during the 16th Federation of Asian and Oceanian Biochemists and Molecular Biologists (FAOBMB) Congress held virtually last Nov. 25.
The poster, titled “In silico analysis of antihyperuricemic properties of maslinic acid as urate anion transporter-1 (URAT-1) inhibitor,” centered on the properties of a specific plant compound that can decrease the risk of developing gout, a form of arthritis characterized by joint swelling most often in the big toe.
“Ang ginawa namin doon ay pumili kami ng isang compound na na-iisolate from plants which is the maslinic acid, and then through computational experiments […], iniscreen namin siya if it can be a probable treatment for gout,” Markus Brent Arevalo, principal author of the study, told the Varsitarian.
(What we did is that we chose a compound that can be isolated from plants, which is the maslinic acid, and then through computational experiments, […] we screened it to see if it can be a probable treatment for gout)
He said the recognition could open more opportunities for the team to develop its product and pursue related studies, and even promote the field of biochemistry to students.
Arevalo is joined by Nicole Clarence Louise Gapaz, Louie Rince Suyo and Vince Tyrell Yongco. Biochemistry faculty Prof. Librado Santiago and John Paulin served as the team’s advisers.
The FAOBMB is one of the four regional groupings of the International Union for Biochemistry and Molecular Biology. The annual congress serves as a platform for researchers to showcase new discoveries in the field of life sciences.
