Recently creditor of the Rector's Annual Award for his work results during 2017, Dr. Gabriel Llauradó Maury is back on the spotlight.
With the research "Evaluation of immunomodulatory activity of bioproducts obteined from the edible mushroom Pleurotus sp", Llauradó Maury became the first Cuban academic to achieve his PhD. in Health by the National Scientific Committee and his PhD in Pharmaceutical Sciences by the University of Antwerp, Belgiumm in 2015. At that time, I met him.
In a board composed of professors from both countries, the professor of the Center for Industrial Biotechnology Studies of the Faculty of Natural and Exact Sciences of the Universidad de Oriente presented the value of a nutritional supplement, whose introduction in the Cuban pharmaceutical will imply an improvement in the quality of life of patients with immunological deficiencies.
"I think the most important thing is that we are proposing the introduction of nutritional supplements derived from a little known source in our country such as edible mushrooms.This is an interesting option as a complementary therapy in the treatment of diseases with high incidence in the system immunological, such as cancer or HIV-AIDS, also directly impacts vulnerable groups such as the elderly and children, whose immune system is much weaker".
- Is it possible to reproduce the edible mushrooms in the eastern region of Cuba? (thinking about the sustainability of the proposal)
"Yes. At the moment we have a small-scale production plant, but based on the results we present today, it is in our project's interest to propose to government authorities in Santiago de Cuba the creation of a plant with capacity for greater production, where annually large volumes of edible mushrooms could be obtained. This is perfectly possible because our province is one of the largest coffee producers in the country and the coffee pulp is the the substrate of the mushrooms. The mushrooms grow on the pulp and this generates food provided with proteins, carbohydrates, vitamins and minerals, components of utmost importance to guarantee an adequate nutritional level ".
- However, in the Cuban cuisine, edible mushrooms are not quite appreciated. Hence the proposal to introduce this supplement is in the form of tablets or capsules.
"Exact. The commercial name is Nutriseta. Now we are trying to register the product so that the Cuban authorities can evaluate its introduction as soon as possible. Tablets or capsules are the most accepted form by the population. This is our challenge from now on."
This research is part of the P3 of the VLIR-IUC program, aimed at the development of biopharmaceutical products and the advancement of biotechnology in the eastern region of Cuba "We seek to impact on the increase of the quality of life of people and Cuban science in general - said Dr. Julio César Escalona Arrans, coordinator for the Cuban side. “We research on bacteria to obtain new antibiotics, as well as on the protection of Cuban endogenous plants and the development of resistant cocoa cayes thta can produce metabolites to increase the added value of this product, among others topics".
A couple of years later, I return to this interview to congratulate him, because like all his colleagues, I know he deserves this award, which acknowledges the results of science obtained from this Cuban academic institution.
Translator: Lilia Sanz Gámez
To achieve his degree, Dr. Llauradó Maury presented the value of a nutritional supplement, whose introduction in the Cuban pharmaceutical industry will imply an improvement in the quality of life of patients with immunological deficiencies.