A Filipino high school student studying the anti-dengue properties of the common Philippine mint herb has made history at a prestigious international conference of scientists and experts on natural products research by being the youngest attendee and presenter at the gathering.
Marianna Ines Lopez, a 17-year-old student at the International School Manila, joined the International Congress on Natural Product Research (ICNPR) in Krakow, Poland to share the results of her research on the potential medicinal properties of chemical compounds that can be extracted from the Philippine marsh mint—a fragrant herb known also as yerba buena.
The quadrennial ICNPR typically draws esteemed professors, postdoctoral researchers, PhD candidates, university undergraduates and business executives. In the Krakow gathering, Ines was the only delegate at the conference who had yet to receive a high school diploma.
Lopez was the youngest among more than 1,100 attendees and 900 scientists from around the globe to be selected as a presenter at the Krakow conference from July 13 to 17, 2024. He research found out that two specific yerba buena compounds, called eriocitrin and luteolin-7-O-rutinoside, could strongly bind to—and potentially inhibit—a protein responsible for the spread of the dengue virus within an infected host.
Dengue, a viral infection that can be deadly, spreads to people from mosquito bites. While it infects over 400 million people worldwide every year, dengue’s cure remains elusive. Lopez’s research offers a promising direction towards the development of a drug to treat the virus using natural products.
“This research is really personal to me because I’ve watched over the past few years so many friends and family members endure this virus,” she said.
“But beyond that, because dengue is a disease that majorly afflicts the Philippines and other neglected tropical areas, creating awareness to a predominantly European and North American audience that’s unfamiliar with the disease and its severity had made the experience of presenting my research even more meaningful to me,” Lopez said.
Lopez was one of five selected Filipino scientists at ICNPR, considered one of the world’s most significant gatherings among scientists in the field of natural products research.
“At first, I felt like an impostor and that I, as a high school student, wasn’t supposed to be there. But getting to know others there made me feel less nervous. An older scientist also told me not to worry, because she too — and everyone else — at times do feel that way as well. That exchange was one of the many things I will never forget from this conference, and I’m so grateful and humbled to have been a part of it,” she said.
Last year, Lopez worked at St. Luke’s Medical Center’s Department of Research and Biotechnology (R&B) under Dr. Ann Victoriano-Belvis, senior manager of St. Luke’s R&B, to assist in a study that discovered anti-dengue properties in yerba buena. That exposure sparked her interest in the herb.
With the assistance of colleagues at St. Luke’s, she designed and conducted a follow-up study to evaluate the medicinal compounds of yerba buena and the rest of the mint species. Her Krakow presentation focused on the results of this follow-up study.
“My sincere congratulations to Ines for a job well done. It is remarkable that in the short time she spent with us, she has managed to create work that was recognized by the wider scientific community. I am humbled to have inspired young minds like hers,” said Dr. Victoriano-Belvis.
Lopez also spearheads her school’s largest student-led fundraiser and serves as president of Bare Philippines, a non-profit that brings health education and supplies to underprivileged and indigenous Filipino communities.
She also leads young Red Cross volunteers as chairman of Quezon City’s Red Cross Youth Health Services, while excelling in school under the rigorous International Baccalaureate diploma program.
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